The Airborne Psychic Event
by Zoe-eoZ
Summary: Season 8 ensemble fic! - Bonnie's psychic blast at the end of 8/11 brings about tremendous change for Mystic Falls: Enzo is only the first to return from the dead; Elena awakens from her slumber. Vampires turn human... and Enzo has to face a former tormentor: Grayson Gilbert. Focus on Bonenzo, Delena, Caroline, Stefan. With: Alaric, Jo, Katherine, Kai, et al. (Contains: weddings)
1. The times, they are a-changing

_Originally finished on 19 July, I edited this story in November 2017 to get rid of quite a few all too glaring spelling mistakes and other editing flaws. It had been my first story after a long time away from fanfiction and my first time writing and posting from my phone._

 _I'm currently entertaining the idea of adding one more chapter to this, but we shall see._

 _Anyways._

 _This is my attempt at "fixing" what TVD did wrong in season 8, (in my opinion) namely: allowing Bonnie to lose her love yet again and not giving us a better and more convincing storyline for Elena's return, and a more heartfelt reunion with Damon.  
_

 _I hope you'll enjoy this._

 _..._

 _Spoiler alert:_

 _I love Bonenzo. So there'll be a very happy ending for them here, if also a few more struggles on the way._

 _And Delena: since we didn't get the proposal we all wanted, you can find one here (chapter 22, and a wedding in chapter 26.)_

 _As for Caroline... she'll find happiness, too._

* * *

 _..._

 _It's always somehow, unfailingly, about love._

 _..._

* * *

...

* * *

...

Bonnie was in the middle of extracting the cure from Elena's blood, talking with Enzo, when the sudden lack of a reply, a sudden heavy silence reached her and she immediately knew something was off. She raised her head, frowning.

Yet she still wasn't prepared for what was unfolding in front of her eyes.

Enzo... That look on his face, a mixture of pained agony and sheer surprise. And behind him: Stefan, who had ripped her love's heart straight out of his chest. Who had ripped _her_ heart out.

The next few seconds passed in a blur of fog and clarity, until she found herself by Enzo's side. No no no no no, she thought as she wrapped her arms around him. Her face scrunched up with agony at seeing him like that, lifeless, yet beautiful under the gray veins of death. This couldn't be happening. Not now. Not when they both had finally found each other, had found happiness. No.

She had been robbed of even the mercy of a few parting words, one last "I love you."

A wail started building up inside of her, so primal and raw that she couldn't control it anymore. Her pain was _so_ immense, too immense to be contained, and it found its way out in one giant wave, a powerful burst of magic with unknown proportions, as if she was a bomb, detonating in a blast that obliterated the world around it and left the bomb broken and in pieces.

* * *

...

Stefan woke up from blackness slowly. As he looked around him and memory came back, he scrambled to his feet, in shock.

Oh god, no. He hadn't just killed Enzo. Please no. It couldn't be true.

He felt himself crumple inwardly and he realized that whatever had happened, it had switched his humanity back on.

Then he felt it. Something was different. _He_ felt different. The hellish bond to Cade was severed. How was that even possible? But there was more than that...

Confused and broken, he stumbled forward, where he saw Bonnie draped over Enzo's still form. His heart ached for her. What had he done? He was ready to fall on his knees, to give up there and then. But then...

...

Bonnie barely noticed much of anything, definitely not the Salvatore who had gotten up behind her back and now stood watching her with pain and remorse.

She had buried her head against Enzo's chest. Eyes squeezed shut, she was hugging him close to her, forestalling the inevitable. She was not ready to let him go. She was just not ready yet. (She would never be...)

How was she supposed to go on? She had lost so much. She had fought so often. She had always been there for everyone, and done everything to save them. Now she had done - or rather, thought - one half selfish thing, sharing a human life with her love, and this is how fate paid her back?

By killing the man she loved and robbing her of _everything_? _That_ is what she got?

Anger started mixing in with grief, when suddenly a hand touched her cheek softly, smoothing away a strand of rogue hair. A thumb gently wiped away the trace her tears had left. She startled and opened her eyes to see... Enzo looking up at her, worry marring his features.

She forced herself to look away, swallowing hard as she did. She knew it had to be some happy dream world or a different sphere where Enzo was still with her. Maybe she had lost it completely now. Maybe his death had been the last straw, the one thing she couldn't come back from. It had broken her beyond repair.

She almost didn't mind. She wanted him _here_! Now. She needed him. If she couldn't be happy in the real world, maybe she could just stay in this beautiful place her mind had created-

"Don't cry, love," she heard him say and it felt so real that she looked up to his face again, sighing, half expecting…

...

With a start she sat up straight. "Enzo?!" she gasped, the word getting choked at the end. This couldn't be real, she knew it, and yet... This _wasn't_ some sort of other dimension. It was unlike anything she'd ever experienced; it was not like the Other Side, not like when she had been dead, or in a dream state like before she had become the huntress.

He looked up to her, a little confused maybe, an expression of pain still on his face, but no trace of gray, no trace of death. Enzo was alive.

He was alive and he was here. With Bonnie.

As he slowly propped himself up on his arms, she hugged him so fiercely he almost fell back over, and she heard him give a soft chuckle.

"Easy now, love," he soothed, but the way he wrapped his arms around her, spoke a different tune, mirroring her own fierce desperation.

She was clawing her fingers into his back, kissing him gently, then ever more passionately. "Enzo," she breathed, "I thought I'd lost you."

Her face was a pained frown; then a small smile slowly replaced that expression and more tears welled in her eyes. This couldn't be real.

But it was.

"I'm sorry, love. I didn't mean to make you cry," Enzo rasped. He moved an arm to cup her face in his hand and saw her smile widen.

"Always the perfect gentlemen. Even after just coming back from the dead, you have an apology for me." She smiled wistfully. They both knew it hadn't always been like that. They had had their fair share of not so friendly encounters in the past, after all. Then she sobered again quickly. " _You_ didn't do anything, Enzo," she informed him, anger in her voice, "Stefan did. But you came back to me! You came _back_."

For a glorious blissful moment, there was just the two of them, bathing in each other's love, kissing and clinging to each other like their lives depended on it.

...

Until they were interrupted by a shaky voice calling, "Bonnie?"

At almost the exact same moment as Stefan, Bonnie gasped out a name.

"Elena!"

To say they all were shocked to see each other was an understatement.

Stefan was quickest to recover, and he rushed over to a slightly forlorn looking Elena, hugging her tightly. But he knew to let go before Bonnie could get there. He knew to stay away from her for a while longer, after what he had just done. She wouldn't want him here, or anywhere. He was sure of that.

Only then did it dawn on him what he had just seen. Enzo was alive? He frowned over to the other man, completely in shock. How was that possible? He had just killed him, there was no denying that. He looked down onto his hand, Enzo's blood still staining it red. When he looked back up, the other man was back on his feet, Bonnie by his side.

"Enzo?" Stefan whispered, disbelievingly, "But... I _killed_ you! - Bonnie? What the hell is going on here?"

Elena gently touched his arm then, giving him a sympathetic look, then she walked over to her best friend who had started running toward her.

"Elena!" Bonnie cried, finally embracing her friend again, "I was so sure I'd never see you alive again! I…" Her voice wavered.

"So did I," Elena said as Bonnie stepped away to assess her, never letting go of her arm. Briefly, Bonnie looked over her shoulder to the doorway, making sure that Enzo hadn't somehow vanished.

She didn't trust whatever was going on. She had no idea just _what_ that even was, but she knew she didn't want to lose these people again.

"How?" She wondered aloud, "I don't understand…"

...

But this was only the first sign that something big had happened, something uncontrollable, something to unravel her whole life. Something to unravel all of their lives.


	2. Fare thee well

...

"Hold on hold on hold on. What?!" Caroline couldn't believe what she had just heard. Elena was up, even though Bonnie was still alive? Stefan had killed Enzo, but somehow, he, too, was still alive, or rather, had been resurrected?

And Stefan was… _human_?!

"I'm so confused right now, Bonnie. How is this possible? What's going on? I'm," Caroline paused, rubbing her eyes. This was a lot to take in. "Ugh," she made, "I'm sorry, I've been feeling so off today. Like, someone put a filter over my life or something and muffled the sound. I'm… just not myself. I can't quite follow. Maybe I misheard you. Did you really say Elena is awake?"

Bonnie sounded quite level and calm when she spoke next. "I did, Care," she told her friend, "And there's more. But... It's hard to explain all this over the phone. Why don't we all meet up at the Armory and talk about it? I think Damon and Alaric are still there, right? We really need to talk. All of us."

Caroline ran a hand over her forehead as if to smooth the lines of worry and confusion that had appeared there. She sighed.

"Gah!" she called out. "What's going on today?! Bonnie, my head is swimming. Can we meet at the Mystic Grill instead? I know, I know. Before you say anything: it wasn't my idea. Matt was on the phone. I literally just hung up with him when you called. He said something's going on. You know how he is. He got all evasive and wouldn't say much more; he just wanted me to contact as many of our friends as possible and head on over to the Grill."

She didn't even realize that she had kept ranting on till Bonnie's exasperated yell of her name finally reached her.

"Caroline!"

"Yes. Yeah, yeesh, I'm sorry. I'm so sorry, Bonnie. Here you're telling me about all this and I manage to make it all about me again. Ugh. I'm really…"

She heard a sigh on the other end. "It's okay, Caroline, really. In fact, I may have an idea what's up with you, it may actually be related to whatever is going on. I'm not sure... Let's just meet at the Mystic Grill, like Matt suggested, then. We can all talk there. I... need to go. - Oh, and Caroline: please be careful."

"Always. See you in a little bit!" Caroline forced herself to sound chipper, but for some reason, the whole conversations - first Matt, then Bonnie - had left her with an uncomfortable feeling of doom.

She should be excited! Happy! Elena was back!

But there was too much else going on that she didn't understand and it didn't help that she was just not feeling herself today of all days.

* * *

...

It wouldn't take them all long to realize that profound change had happened elsewhere, too. Aside from Elena being awake despite Bonnie still being alive, and Enzo seemingly resurrected from certain death, there was more.

* * *

...

On their way to the Mystic Grill, Elena had taken her seat beside Stefan, riding shotgun, while Bonnie sat huddled close to Enzo in the back.

She kept shooting worried glances at him and couldn't bring herself to let go of his arm, even while trying to get everyone on the phone.

Once she had hung up on Caroline, she tried to reach Damon. He was in for quite the surprise.

Enzo beside her felt her warm touch against him as he looked out the window. He gave her a little squeeze as he listened to her conversation with Elena, letting their chatter soothe him into zoning out for a bit.

He still couldn't quite wrap his head around the fact that he'd had the perfect day - his bucket list day - and then he had died. There was a strange feeling of darkness inside of him that he couldn't quite permeate or even grasp, and he shivered at the thought. Had he gone on into oblivion? Only to be pulled out from there at the last minute?

He had a sudden flashback to when Bonnie had gripped his hand when the Other Side had collapsed around them. She had saved him then, and she had saved him again.

How many lives did he even have? He'd better not test his luck. After all, life didn't exactly have a track record of treating him very kindly. Bonnie truly was his anchor, his everything. She had brought him back twice. His life had been nothing good without her, just abandonment, sickness, torture, death. Then he'd met her and everything hadn't slowly started to change.

It was funny, really, how at first he had been so "unaware" of the power she held over him. It had taken them both so long to finally see more in each other, to fall in love.

"Enzo..." Stefan jolted him out of his musings before darker feelings could take over his thoughts once again. The younger Salvatore had been rather quiet in the front while the girls had talked, but now he had apparently decided to break his silence, and Enzo warily listened.

"I'm sorry for what happened."

Bonnie fell silent. Enzo felt her grip on him tighten involuntarily as Stefan cleared his throat and continued, "I'm sorry for… _killing_ you."

"Your switch was off, Stefan. It's alright." Enzo was in a forgiving mood, or maybe he just didn't care to hear any more flat and meaningless apologies.

But Stefan hadn't gotten the memo. "No, it's not," he disagreed, "I'm… I killed you in cold blood and just because my switch was off is no apology. I still did it. You and I both are lucky that whatever happened, happened, and-"

Enzo had to suppress the urge to roll his eyes. Stefan sure liked to play the martyr. He was rather unlike his brother in that regard. With a jerk of his head, he quickly interrupted him. "I know you like to play the martyr and everything, Stefan, but let's just forget it ever happened. It's not the first time you tore my heart out."

There was a brief pause. Enzo smirked as he saw Stefan cringe a little at the memory. Of course bringing that up wasn't exactly fair, because Enzo had _made_ Stefan tear his heart out out the first time. It still made for a good argument, or at least an entertaining one.

"In fact, your family seems to be quite fond of ripping my heart out," he suddenly continued, a little surprised at where the hell that was coming from, "either literally or figuratively. I'm seeing a trend there that Lily started; and Damon and you just kinda tagged along…"

He was only half joking now and stopped himself before it got too dark. Bonnie looked at him a little worried and reassured him with a squeeze of his arm.

"Nobody's gonna rip your heart out, ever again, Enzo," she muttered, "They'd have to get past me first. And they won't," she stated firmly. He looked her in the eyes and smiled. God, he loved her! How did he ever deserve to be with her?

She was also very hot when she was so sure of herself; powerful, and strong. He found himself falling in love with her all over again. Or even more, if that was possible.

* * *

...

Bonnie had tried her best to not blow off on Stefan. But now that he had acknowledged what he had done, she felt her anger rise again. She saw his sorrowful features in the rear view mirror and couldn't help but feel a tinge of compassion. She wanted to hold onto her anger; Stefan had killed the love of her life!

It just wasn't her, though. With a sigh, she gave in to the feeling of forgiveness. Deep down she knew that Stefan wouldn't ever have done this under normal circumstances.

She stifled a laugh. Being a vampire with the human switch on wasn't exactly a good example of "normal" either.

Thankfully, they all seemed to have silently agreed on letting the topic go, and Shen snuggled up against Enzo for the remainder of their car ride, while Elena was unsuccessfully trying to reach Damon's cell.

* * *

...

When they finally reached Mystic Falls and the Mystic Grill after a long drive of awkward silence one minute and happy laughter and chatter the next, they all were in for the next big shock…

As Stefan parked the car, they saw Matt and Damon wait in the front for them. A look of something on Matt's face: foreboding? While Damon looked positively stunned.

He had already spotted her in the car, sitting next to his brother, beautiful and exactly like the last time he saw her.

He remembered dancing with her. The touch of her hand against his shoulder. His fingers entwined with his… and her lips… he sighed as she exited the car in an almost fluid movement, her lithe body reminding him of a cat.

He had tried to prepare himself for half an eternity without her, and now here she was…

It was too bad that today of all days he had started to feel so off. Like, the spark of life had been extinguished and the world was painted in lackluster colors.

This moment deserved to be a technicolor dream, for Gods' sakes!

Oh well, he'd take it as is. As long as he got to wrap his arms around Elena!

"Damon!" She called out, and there were tears in her voice, laughter, and love. "Damon!"

She rushed over to where he was standing, waiting, frozen for a moment too long, before his legs finally got the signal to walk over to her, helping her shortening the gap between them until they collided in a tight embrace!

Elena felt his hands around her, she felt his body against hers as she clung to him, jumping up to straddle his legs in a fierce embrace that didn't quite manage to hide the sexual desire that had quickly followed her as soon as she had touched him again, and felt his breath in her hair.

Oh gosh, how she'd missed him. Yet shouldn't it have felt like a mere moment to her that they last saw each other? Regardless, just a minute spent away from him was too long, and she was just glad to have him back!

Damon, on the other hand, had missed her for way more than a minute and he was drinking her in like a dehydrated man in the desert. He pressed his lips against hers, fiercely, passionately, not a trace of gentleness. His tongue in her mouth, his hands up the back of her shirt, he forgot that they had company, until she tore free of him, exasperated, yet exhilarated, too. She smiled at him, chiding, "Not here, Damon, that'll have to wait till later."

"Argh!" He made, exaggerating his frustration as he turned around to the others, his arm still wrapped around Elena's waist as he pulled her in for another kiss before facing the others and addressing a tired looking Stefan.

"Brother. You look… how do I put it mildly: like shit."

"Thanks, Damon."

"Well. Since Bon Bon here kindly filled me in on what happened, it isn't too surprising. But geez Louise, Stefan, ripping poor Enzo's heart out again? That's just so yesterday. Couldn't you have come up with something a little more, I don't know, ingenious?"

Bonnie and Stefan both glared at him. Enzo rolled his eyes and Damon shrugged innocently

"Aw, come on. Did you all lose your sense of humor on the way back here? Bon Bon, what exactly happened with that weird shock wave you sent out, huh? Did it make everyone super serious?"

"This is not funny, Damon. Not to me. You weren't there. But I wouldn't wish this on you or anyone, seeing your loved one die in front of you like that is no joke."

Damon sobered. Bonnie was holding Enzo's hand. They exchanged a look that spoke more than words. As much as he might think it weird, he couldn't deny that these two had annoying chemistry. And while he didn't mind making fun of Enzo's demise, he didn't want to hurt Bonnie any more.

"I don't won't to interrupt your moment here, but there's something you need to know and then need to _see_ ," Matt eventually chimed in. Having had enough of the ensuing stare down of his motley supernatural group of friends, he had decided it was time to tell them of Mystic Falls' latest crazy happenings.

"Elena," he addressed his ex-girlfriend and gave her a brief warm smile. "It's good to see you. This is gonna be especially, um… strange for you…"

"Come on, Mattie, I'm on the edge of my seat with this suspension." Damon blurted out, "And I have already seen what's going on." He looked to Elena, and squeezed her hand. "Babe," he smiled warmly, a smile that he rarely showed anyone but her. It made him almost look - human. "A bunch of formerly dead people showed up and... your parents are among them." He knew he had sprung this on her without warning, but there wasn't really anything he could have said to soften the blow, so he hadn't gone with swiftness instead. He squeezed her hand. "Let's go say hi to them, shall we? They're all waiting in there."

"What?!" Elena stared at him, utter incomprehension rendering her immobile. She clung to Damon, and he felt her weight shift toward him. He was holding her up. He exchanged a glance with his brother, then looked back at her. Her beautiful brown eyes...

"I know, beautiful. This is quite the shock. We have no clue, yet, what's going on. They don't know anything, either."

"And they're not the only ones," Matt chimed in, "Jo is back, too. Tyler. Vickie…"

"Is my Grams…" Bonnie had wanted to ask all the questions, but her voice broke. Her mind was whirling with thoughts. Was this her doing? Had she somehow disrupted Cade's whole death scheme? Or the whole afterlife? What had she done? What the hell was going on?

"She's not here, I'm sorry Bon." Damon gave her a sympathetic look.

"Yet," Matt added, more hopeful. "Maybe she'll still show. Hard to say what is going on and whether it's over yet." He looked around, "But why don't we go in first."

* * *

...

It was dim and slightly gloomy inside. But the Mystic Grill bustled with life like it hadn't done in a long time, it seemed. There were people everywhere, talking, sitting, laughing.

Some were crying.

Elena needed a moment to get her bearings. This was still all so unexpected. She saw Caroline standing with Tyler. She hadn't known he had died, so this didn't even strike her as all that odd. Yet he must have been one of the returned, going by what Matt had said.

And then she saw them, at the same moment they saw her. Suddenly it was as if the crowd was silent, just a background noise to her life. Her parents. Her mom and dad. Just like they were when she had last seen them. Her chest constricted with love and pain and disbelief.

"Mom! Dad!" She called out. She felt Damon give her hand another squeeze. She looked to him, he nodded and let go. And then she ran again. For the second time today, she ran to someone that she loved more than anything.

"Elena? Honey!" Her mom said, and they all hugged each other. It was so surreal. She was so happy, yet at the same time she felt dread rise within her. Such happiness never came without a price and she was terrified of having to pay.

* * *

...

Bonnie and Enzo hadn't made it far into the room, when Enzo abruptly stopped.

"Are you alright?" Bonnie asked, sudden concern in her voice. She saw him clench his jaw, saw his muscles work. Something wasn't right. What had he seen? _Who_?

Enzo felt the urge to charge and had it not been for Bonnie's hand in his and the sudden shocking realization that his superspeed was apparently not working anymore, he would have followed that urge.

Because not far from where he now stood, one of his tormentors, one of the men that had poked and prodded and torn him apart for 70 years, was now hugging Bonnie's best friend.

* * *

 _Thanks to the two people that are actually following this story (or at least clicked on the "story alert" button. lol - This is for you. Because if it weren't for you, I'd have just kept this chapter to myself. :)_ _._


	3. Stay with me

**Unspecified past**

...

The room was very dark, so dark, in fact, that the men walking in were wearing night-vision goggles.

It was a bare room. Very spacious, but very bare. The walls were tiled, but in the absence of light it would have been anyone's guess as to what color had been chosen. They were cold to the touch, almost icy.

The floor was blank concrete. Easy to clean. Just like everything else. It was necessary.

The men nodded to each other. They were ready and fully anticipated the attack that was inevitably happening as soon as they had opened the door and a sliver of silvery light shone into the dark for a split second. They had to be quick. It was always like that. He'd come charging at them out of some unseen corner of the room. He'd try to get out. He never did.

Once the door was locked again - and he was on the cool floor, incapacitated by a swift shot of vervain or sometimes something a little more… rustic - they'd wait for him to regain consciousness or turn back to life.

By the time he did, they had regrouped and were standing in every corner. Waiting.

This was by far the weirdest experiment to him. The torture? That he could understand in a twisted kind of way. But this? Did they want to test his senses? His reaction time? His… what?

It was both better and worse than being cut open and taken apart. He had been in the room for a while by then, with no clue as to how long exactly. There was no knowing whether it was night or day or weeks or months, or whatever. It may have very well been an eternity. An eternity of nothing to do and always waiting for the pain to start again.

He wished he could just kill himself, but since he couldn't exactly rip his own heart out or behead himself, he was stuck in life.

"Enzo." The voice sounded handsome, friendly. He hadn't heard it before. _That one must be new_ , he thought.

Even with his enhanced vision, it was hard to make out more than a silhouette.

"We haven't met. I believe you've been in here for…" a light rustle of paper, "almost four months. I think it is time for your stay to end, don't you agree?"

His body tensed. His muscles strung taut, he just waited.

"It's rather impolite to not reply when you're being spoken to, Enzo. I'd have thought they'd taught you some manners in all the time you've been here. But alright. I could see why you'd be a little… distraught. So let me give you another chance…"

A white hot flash of light seared his eyes. Enzo couldn't quite stifle the noise of pain that escaped him as the burning sensation dug into his body, spreading out.

"Interesting. Well," the man's tone of voice changed from that of someone having a conversation to someone simply making an observation. "As stated, the subject is hyper-sensitive to any kind of light. The sunlight-imitating-flashlight burnt his eyes right out of his sockets. A little longer, and the subject might die."

Enzo was in agony, his body taking its sweet time to heal itself. He had sunken to his knees and couldn't even think.

"I'm sure you're happy to hear that you'll be brought over to your new lodgings now, Enzo. Oh," the man had the audacity to laugh a lighthearted laugh that sounded just as handsome as his voice, "where are my manners. Let me introduce myself: Grayson Gilbert, Enzo, I'm very thrilled to meet you and work with you from now on."

It would be another few days before he'd actually _see_ the man that would be his torture master for the next few years. But it was at that moment that he memorized the name and the voice and swore to himself he'd get back at the bastard eventually.

* * *

...

* * *

 **Now**

...

Bonnie tightened her grip on Enzo's hand and implored him to look at her. She touched the side of his face ever so gently and looked up into his troubled face.

"Enzo, what is it?" she asked very quietly, and she saw his jaw muscles work again. He was clenching his teeth, hard.

"I'm sorry, love, a bit of my past that I'd rather have left forgotten just reentered my life and I'm afraid I'm just not strong enough to let it go."

He didn't look at her, he couldn't. If he had, she'd have stopped him, and he couldn't let that happen. He just couldn't. All that pain... It was still there.

As he freed his hand from hers, she called his name, louder this time, but he gave her a sad apologetic look before he started walking away from her. "Stay away, Bonnie, I don't want to see you get harmed."

She was flustered, confused. What was going on? She followed him with her eyes and saw him march in a straight line, very determined, toward a spot somewhere on the other side of the bar. No, wait. He was walking straight toward Elena and her little family reunion gathering.

Suddenly Bonnie remembered and put two and two together as soon as she did. Hadn't they found out that Elena's dad had been with the Augustine Society? And Enzo… had been an Augustine vampire. Her hand flew to her mouth as she gasped in shock. Quickly, she pulled herself together and started making her way in his direction.

"Enzo!" This time, she yelled. As she ran after him, she felt a huge fear creep up her spine, threatening to burst out of her. It felt almost like a living thing. So powerful and unpredictable. So very much like that strange blast just a few hours ago. It terrified her. She felt it drain her. It wanted out. But if she gave in, she worried it'd tear her apart, and with it, the world. She _had_ to get it under control. She stopped in her tracks, almost hyperventilating, before she forced herself to slowly breathe in, then out, then in, slowly, slowly, slowly, until she had calmed herself down considerably.

By the time Bonnie seemed to have regained her control, she noticed that all eyes were on the Gilberts. She spotted Enzo and called him again just a split second before he came down on Elena's dad like a force of nature.

She ran as the world slowed around her, then sped up.

...

Everything was a bustle of activity, a flurry of movements, as a few more shocking things transpired…

Enzo would have probably killed Grayson Gilbert, had it not been for the fact that he didn't seem to have any of his former vampire powers.

Damon, while shocked and taken by surprise, would have probably killed Enzo - because how could he not protect his one true love's family like it was his own? - had it not been for the fact that he, too, didn't seem to have his former strength.

And Elena's father would have probably either died or killed the two vampires, had it not been for the fact that a quick injection with vervain didn't seem to hurt either of them one bit and as he quickly stabbed the one that had attacked him, _Enzo,_ the Augustine Vampire he had known for so many years (and what the hell was he even doing there?) just crumpled to the floor, bleeding and bleeding and bleeding, with not even a first sign of healing.

"Noooooo!" Bonnie cried. "Enzo. No!" She fell to her knees right next to him, sobbing. It was all too much, a deja vu from hell. "Please," she pleaded, "not again. Not after I just got you back." She pulled him toward her, trying to stay focused on helping him, but she didn't even know where to begin. There was so much blood. "I can't be without you," she told him as he stared up at her with something like pain and wonder in his eyes. "Don't you dare leave me again, Lorenzo St. John."

He looked at her disbelievingly, his lips moving as he tried to speak. "I think I'm human again, Bonnie Bennett. I think I'm human, and I'm dying."

"No, silly. You're not." She couldn't stop her tears. She was barely aware of Elena pushing her dad away, or of Damon gently talking to her, then telling Enzo to lie still and drink his blood.

"You're not dying, because I won't allow that to happen. Drink Damon's blood! I don't know what happened and how you could even _be_ human right now, but since it can't have been the cure, his blood should help you heal."

"We might have a problem there," Damon chimed in, his voice quiet and bewildered, "I don't think I'm a vampire anymore, either." He looked down to where he had just tried to prick open his wrist and the pain had been way more intense than usual and the blood was just freely dripping out of him.

"Damon?" Elena and her father both called out at the same time.

"You've been dating a vampire?" Grayson stated in shock. But Elena had already left his side, taken off her sweater and started tending to Damon, while Bonnie met her two best friends' gazes briefly, before looking back to where Enzo still rested against her, her one hand pushing down on his chest to stop the flow of dark red that already saturated his shirt.

"I'm sorry, love," he rasped, "I should have…"

"Sh… it's alright, babe," she shushed him, trying to smile for his sake. "You can apologize all you want later. For now, though, please just focus on staying with me. Okay?"

She smiled a teary smile at him that he returned, though his eyelids were growing heavy and he had trouble keeping them open.

This was not how he had anticipated any of it. Definitely not being human again with Bonnie. But it was okay, with her there with him, it was okay. He wasn't alone. He only wished he could have spent a little more time with her.

"I love you, Bonnie."

"Enzo…"

She bit her lip as she held onto him. She couldn't do this again. It would kill her. In one way or another, it would kill her if he died again.

Unless...

... she didn't let it happen.


	4. How to save a life

…

Bonnie took a deep breath and concentrated on the magic that was still somewhere within her. She began mumbling a long forgotten spell, now remembered, and she focused all her energy on Enzo.

He was still trying to hang on, still staring up at her, but his eyelids were fluttering more and more and the struggle got visibly harder for him.

Someone had called an ambulance already, but they wouldn't be here for a while and it didn't look good.

Elena was trying to help, but she couldn't do much, either. All the knowledge she really had was more theoretical than anything after all.

Besides, she was too upset and distracted by the fact that, clearly, her father had known Enzo. And she understood all too well what that inferred.

* * *

...

Bonnie had zoned out almost completely. She knew it was on her to save Enzo. For the second time today, the love of her life lay dead or dying in her arms and she was starting to feel a strong anger creep up inside of her.

She shook her head, forcing herself to let go of it. Not now. She'd have to deal with it later. She needed to concentrate. She kept humming the spell, over and over.

She had to be careful, though. If she let her powers get out of control again, she'd have to pay for it dearly. She'd have to pay with her own death, she could feel it. And while she was honestly ready and willing to die for Enzo, (though fuck fate if it treated her like that), she couldn't be sure that her death wouldn't also mean his.

That couldn't happen.

...

"Bonnie."

No. It couldn't be… Bonnie opened her eyes to see her grandmother, just like she remembered her. She must have slipped onto a psychic plane.

"Oh Grams," she whispered as the old woman wrapped her up in her warm arms. Her scent smelled like home to her granddaughter, and she allowed herself to bathe in it for a brief moment.

"Grams, I could really use your help. Enzo…"

"Oh my child. A vampire? You of all people chose a _vampire_ to be the love of your life?"

Bonnie stared at her grandma, slightly embarrassed and exasperated. "Well, if it makes you feel better, I didn't exactly plan on falling in love with him. But thanks for your concern." She pouted. She couldn't help it.

Grams' warm smile didn't reach her until the old woman tipped her grandchild's chin up with her extended index finger. "I'm not judging you, Bonnie. You would be surprised just how much I understand you. Love knows no boundaries after all…"

A sense of urgency suddenly washed over Bonnie again. There was no time for idle chatter.

"Grams, he's not a vampire anymore. He's human. And he's bleeding out. I need to stop the blood flow somehow. I need to-"

"Oh sweetheart. But you already did all you could. He'll survive."

Bonnie suddenly noticed how her real hand and Grams' slightly translucent spirit manifestation's hands were intertwined and both resting on Enzo's open wound. He appeared to be unconscious but breathing, and the red stain wasn't growing much anymore.

Bonnie felt a strange calm come over her. She closed her eyes, then looked back at Grams.

"Why didn't _you_ come back?" She asked, a new sadness washing over her. "I mean, so many others did. Why not you? I just… what happened, Grams? Did _I_ do all this?"

"You don't know?" Grams smiled again. "Oh my sweet sweet Bonnie… of course this was all you. It was _your_ grief that caused a psychic blast to be led out into the world and that created this plane right here. Since this is all tied to you, it affects the people that you hold dear in the real life plane as well. Your very own beliefs and wishes played a role in bringing about this change. You never liked vampires. So now your friends - and the friends of your friends - are no longer vampires. That is… _if_ they were in the vicinity of your psychic blast's shockwave."

Mystic Falls, Bonnie realized.

Then her Grams continued, a sympathetic smile on her face. "People returned from the dead because you opened a way for them."

"But…" She didn't really know what to say or how to feel about this.

"Me?" Grams said, and her smile saddened ever so slightly. "I'm a witch, Bonnie. And I _chose_ not to return. Please don't cry, my child. I will _always_ be there for you. But this thing could be more danger than blessing in the long run, and while I know you didn't mean to create it, you caused a shift in the cosmic and magical balance and I chose to stay behind for the time when you may need my help to mend it."

Bonnie closed her eyes. She clung to her grandmother. She needed more answers. She had so many questions. And what she had just heard left her with a strange feeling of doom, which scared her. Most of all, she needed her Grams, no matter on which plane of existence.

But when she opened her eyes again, Grams was gone and Bonnie had already left the other plane to be back with Enzo and her friends at the Mystic Grill.

Just in time for the paramedics to arrive…

* * *

...

 **A few days later**

...

It was an awfully bright day. Caroline kept adjusting her cool sixties' style sunglasses for the hundredth time as she was sitting on the bench, waiting for Elena to show up.

She checked the time. Again. Checked her messages. Nothing.

Finally, she saw Damon's car swerve dangerously close to the curb and a moment later, a flushed looking Elena showed up by her side. She slumped down next to the blonde and let out a loud sigh.

"So sorry, Care, Damon…"

"Just had to ravage you one more time before you could come to meet me?"

"Care!"

It was kind of cute how Elena would still get a little embarrassed by someone alluding to her sex life, even after all that she'd been through.

"Anyways. I hope it was good. So, can we talk about Alaric and Jo for a second? I mean, you and Damon are still all happy peachy picture perfect, right?"

"Uh, ya," Elena made, a little worried about her friend's sudden mood change.

"Good, because I don't want to be a shitty friend and not listen to your problems - or your happiness - right now, but I really really need us to focus on the mess that is my life!"

Caroline suddenly started to cry. Alarmed, Elena hugged her friend tightly, "Oh Care! I'm so sorry, it must be so tough for you."

Obviously, Elena hadn't actually been there for any of it. She had been so horribly out of the loop upon her arrival and it still bothered her more than she'd allowed herself to let on. Over three years of sleep would do that to a person.

Of course everyone had been more than understanding and they didn't tire to fill her in on anything and everything that she had missed, but for some reason she still felt like she had let them down somehow by being absent from their lives during such a crucial time.

There was, first and foremost, Damon, who had struggled so much without her there - even though of course he acted as if it all was nothing and didn't really matter. But she knew better.

There were Caroline and Stefan - and Alaric and the twins. Now Jo… it was all a jumbled mess of relationships.

And Bonnie. Her best friend. It pained Elena to think that she hadn't been there for any of Bonnie's major life changes. Getting with Enzo! She'd have never seen that one coming. Or the loss and then reawakening of her magic, her psychic powers. Or the time she'd been a huntress.

Even now she couldn't be there for Bonnie as much as she wanted because she simply couldn't choose a side in that awkward new constellation with her dad and Enzo. Elena was still too upset to talk with her dad much about it, but the day would come.

Right now, though, Caroline needed her. And Elena was glad that for once she could be there for someone.

"It's just," Caroline finally sobbed, "you know, I knew we were never a real couple or anything. I mean, Stefan and I…" she didn't finish that thought. "But after being pregnant for 38 goshdarn weeks and getting siphoned off of and almost dying because of it and feeling like a ginormous fat whale… After the horrible and exhausting and beautiful newborn months and then seeing them grow into two walking, talking little persons, I don't know, I just feel like I am their mom, and I can't just happily step aside now and make room for Jo. I know it's nobody's fault. And she doesn't deserve any of it, but somewhere deep down I almost hate that she is back."

Caroline touched her mouth in shock. "Oh gosh, I didn't mean to say that, I really don't actually think..." She faltered horrified at herself. "Elena…"

"It's okay, Care, I understand." Her friend looked at her warmly, but Caroline didn't feel much better.

"I'm a horrible person," she stated, and hung her head.

"Care…"

"No, really. I am. You know, let me be absolutely honest for a moment. And when I'm done, I'd completely understand it if you decided to unfriend me."

Elena raised both eyebrows before she interrupted her friend, "I won't do that, Caroline. We've been friends through so much by now, and I totally get why you're struggling with this."

The other girl stood up, and huffed. She ran a hand through her hair, then stared at Elena, sadly. "Well, let's wait till after I'm done. You can always change your mind then. I wouldn't blame you."

Elena followed Caroline up and started walking with her a little. They were at the park, it was a nice sunny day. There weren't many people out yet, but mostly because it was still pretty early. They walked in silence for a while and Elena almost started thinking that Caroline had changed her mind, when she heard her quietly clear her throat.

"Have you seen Bonnie lately?"

"Uh… no, not really, unfortunately. You know, with my dad and Enzo… things are a little, um, tense at the moment. Plus, now that we're all human, it seems that he's only very slowly getting better and…" Elena laughed a nervous laugh, "she seems a little bit _overprotective_ of him."

She expected Caroline to join her laughter and joke about Bonnie being such a "mother hen," but the girl merely nodded her head.

"Ya, that's understandable… - well, anyways. Bonnie… she's my best friend." She looked over to Elena, and halted. "I mean, _you_ are, too, obviously. But…"

Elena smiled. "But I haven't exactly been very available during the last three years. I get it. Don't worry."

Caroline gave her a quick hug. Her gaze said more than any words could have.

"Anyways. You know, that whole blast thing that she did and that woke you up and made all of us humans again and brought back our dead and all that?"

"It's pretty amazing, isn't it?"

Caroline looked at her for a long moment, contemplating.

Elena started feeling a little worried and uncomfortable. "Isn't it?" She repeated, feeling a little dumb.

"See, and that's where I show you my inner selfish asshole: I so _hate_ it! I hate it with a passion and I feel like she got everyone what they always wanted. You got Damon back and your parents, Alaric got Jo. Matt got his sister and his best friend. And Caroline Forbes? Caroline Forbes got nothing. I'm no longer a vampire. I lost all my awesome hyper-aware senses, my super-human speed, my immortality. I lost my kids and Alaric. I kind of also lost Stefan, because he's on a trip to find redemption and I can't help him and he won't let me be there for him either."

She gave Elena an eyeroll, then continued.

"Instead, stupid _Valerie_ is traveling around with him, compelling all his un-compelled victims. Valerie! Ugh! - And Jo already moved in with Alaric and they're such a disgustingly sweet and picture perfect happy family that I want to puke! Suddenly I feel like the unloved and unwanted step aunt to my own children. Because, guess what, they aren't mine! And I know they aren't and they never truly were. Yet they were to me! They are mine just as much as theirs. They're…"

She trailed off for a moment, but Elena knew to wait and not say anything yet.

Caroline glanced over to her, maybe to gage her reaction. Then she continued,

"And as if that wasn't enough, I also didn't get my mom back because by some stupid witch or magic logic, apparently cancer doesn't count as something that can be reversed. My life is a nightmare right now. Bonnie's glorious psychic blast made everyone's lives better, she is living her dream, in a vampire free Mystic Falls; but she ruined her best friend's life, she ruined my life. I feel like everything is in shambles, Elena! And I kinda really really hate Bonnie for it right now."

The two girls exchanged a long glance. Elena's features had softened into a sad frown, and Caroline looked at her expectantly.

"So," she said, "do you think you can still be my friend?"

* * *

 _This one is for you, shadowdancer! Thanks for your feedback!_


	5. Stay together for the kids

...

The house was filled with happy noises and the nice sweet smell of Jo's perfume. Alaric stopped for a moment, right there on the stairs, and soaked it all in.

As he continued walking up toward the girls' room, he could hear peals of laughter and he smiled. This was perfection. After all the stuff he had had to endure in the past, he had finally been granted his little piece of paradise. Dinner was waiting downstairs, but nobody had heard him calling because they were just laughing too loudly.

Before he could emerge in the doorway, it got quiet and he heard Lizzie ask, "Jo, when will our mommy-"

"Our _other_ mommy," Josie corrected her quietly.

"When will she be coming back to live with us?"

Alaric felt a pang of guilt. He shouldn't let poor Jo have to deal with answering that question alone, and so he rushed in, a happy smile on his face, and said, "Hey girls."

Jo was kneeling next to the girls on a heap of pillows and blankets - the remains of a fort - and had a slightly uncomfortable expression that was barely masked by a grin.

"Oh, it's daddy! I guess dinner is ready. Should we…" she trailed off, then, as if she remembered something, she turned around to face the girls and cupped their cheeks. "Listen," she began, "Caroline, your other mommy, will always be there for you two. She loves you just as much as I do, or daddy here. But she won't ever be living with us again."

The girls looked stricken. Josie's chin started to wobble, and her sister, always the stronger one, always the little protector, grabbed her hand and held it.

"Oh sweetie, I'm so sorry. It's just… she lives over at uncle Stefan's now. She has her own life, okay?"

"Without us?!"

"No no no, Lizzie, Josie," Alaric stepped in, resting his hand on Jo's shoulder, "that's not what mommy meant. Mommy Caroline will _always_ be your mommy and she will always have time for you girls. And when you're a little older, you can spend a night or two each week or so at her house!"

Jo abruptly turned her head to him, giving him a look of alarm - or maybe annoyance? He shrugged apologetically. He hadn't exactly thought this all through as well as he should have. He was winging this whole new situation as best as he could.

There was more hope in the twins' little faces. "Really? In uncle Stefan's house? Can we, can we go right now?"

"Easy, easy," he chuckled. "Like I said. You girls need to get a little older first," their faces fell a little again, but he raised a hand quickly and smiled, "and what better to help you girls grow than a nice Spaghetti and meatballs dinner?!"

"Meatballs!"

"Spaghetti!"

The girls yelled and were up and on their way downstairs quicker than he could help Jo to her feet. She looked up at him.

"Every week? And how old were you thinking they should be?"

"I was making it up as I went along, I'm sorry. We can talk about it."

"We should have talked about it _before_ you said anything. Now, if I say I'd rather not have them go every week, I'll be the mean mom."

"Jo, I'm sorry. No you won't. We will… let's talk about it later, okay? Nothing is set in stone. The girls will have forgotten about this conversation by tomorrow."

"Right." Jo's lips formed a thin line. She then went past Alaric, letting him stand there with his arms stretched out in an attempt to hug her.

He sighed. Looked like there was some trouble in paradise after all. Hadn't taken very long. Of course not…

* * *

...

The couch dug into his back at an uncomfortable angle. Or maybe it was the springs. Either way, Enzo was tired of resting and tired of the stupid couch and yes, he was tired of being human again and feeling so helpless and weak.

Slowly, he sat up, grimacing in pain. His shoulder felt stiff and sore and his chest _still_ hurt where that bastard Grayson Gilbert had stabbed him with a piece of splintery wood. He closed his eyes for a moment and waited for the pain to ebb away. Obviously, he was no stranger to pain, but he had forgotten just how different it felt when you were human, and how it affected you for way longer and way more.

"Enzo, you are supposed to take it easy!"

Bonnie had come into the room just as he stood up and walked over to the door. He looked at her and smiled.

"I know, love, but I'm going _crazy_ over here and I can't just lay around anymore. I need to get out."

She tilted her head. She was worried about him. He could see it battling inside of her, her wish to keep him safe and bundled up far from any danger, and her understanding of his situation. Most of all, he saw her sorrow and her guilt over what her explosive psychic blast had done to all her friends.

He knew she was happy that he was human. In a way he was happy too. It was all he ever wanted, to spend a life with a person who loved him just as much as he loved them and who would do _anything_ for him, just as he would do anything for them.

But now he was also scared, and worried. Without his vampire strength, he couldn't protect Bonnie as well as he would have liked. And if anything happened to her… He forced himself to not think that thought through to the end. He clenched his teeth and walked over to his girl.

"Come on, Bonnie Bennett, let me take you out to dinner." He pulled her close and ran a hand through her hair, and one down her back. He leaned forward and gently kissed her neck. She giggled a little.

"What?"

"Still a neck guy, aren't you?" She smiled.

"Always. - Now, will you, Ms. Bennett, allow me to invite you to a fancy restaurant of your choice?"

He held out his hand and she laid hers in his. With a fake little curtsy and a long sincere smile, she agreed, and together they went out the door.

* * *

...

"Come _on_ , Stefan! Haven't you done penance enough for the moment? Get your ass back to Mystic Falls and talk to blondie. You heard Elena. She means business." Damon chewed on a toothpick till it suddenly snapped. He grimaced, looked at the piece of wood, then over to where Elena sat, coaching him through this conversation, and shrugged in her direction.

 _I'm trying_ , he mouthed.

"Try harder!" She hissed.

"Stef. Come back. I'm not joking. Care bear has some kind of crisis and she needs you here. Don't be me. Don't be an asshole to the girl you love."

On the other end of the phone, he heard Stefan sigh. "Alright. I'm… we've almost wrapped up everything out here. I should be able to get back by Sunday…"

"Sunday funday then. Hang tight, brother!"

With that, he ended the call and swaggered over to his girl. He started unbuttoning his shirt as he went, and her eyes couldn't hide her grin.

"Really, Mr. Salvatore? Again?"

"I don't know. Maybe it's just too hot in here?"

She slapped him gently with the scarf she had been wearing earlier and he danced away from her a little before zooming in and shoving her back into the cushions of the couch.

"Where were we before you started to emotionally blackmail me to do something about your girlfriend's demise?"

She raised an eyebrow. "I did no such thing. I merely informed you that I was too preoccupied with poor Caroline's sorrows to…"

"... to let me have my human way with you…"

He kissed her then, his mouth quickly traveling down further and further as her light protest got swallowed up by moans.

* * *

...

They were sitting together in a gloomy corner of her favorite French restaurant and Bonnie was glad for the dim light as it masked her flushed face that she felt was a dead giveaway for what Enzo's touch was doing to her…

"I enjoy sitting next to you, love. I never understood why couples did that instead of sitting across from each other like normal people." He grinned at her, clearly enjoying himself as his hand slowly traveled from her warm thigh upward. "But now I do…"

"Enzo!" She gasped as his hand traveled under her panties. But just as she was starting to let go and let it happen, she felt him tense next to her, saw his jaw work. Quickly, she brushed his hand off and held his wrist. "Enzo," she whispered and scanned the room. "It's him, isn't it?" A coldness crept up her spine. Elena's dad…

Enzo closed his eyes. She noticed his breathing become slightly erratic. Not here, she thought. Not in his current state. Not with Elena's dad.

She had to get him out of there.

* * *

 _Thank you guys for the reviews for the last chapter! Very much appreciated. :)_


	6. The quiet things that no one ever knows

...

The bed was nice and cozy. Now that Elena had finally persuaded Damon to get some comfy and warm sheets to replace his satin ones she felt like she could basically live in that bed.

"We are not in a porn movie, Damon. Let us have boring sheets please. _We_ will be the exciting part about this bed," she had argued, and he had smirked and said, "alright, you and I, we will make this bed smoke and burn, even in flannel, Elena Gilbert."

Now she was lying cuddled up in a cocoon of blankets right next to him, her head resting in the crook of his arm and his neck, when his phone suddenly made a beep and disrupted their postcoital bliss.

"Who is that?" Elena wanted to know, but Damon turned toward her and buried his head in her hair, grunting.

"Come on, Mr. Salvatore, you could at least check. Maybe it's something important."

"More important than breathing in your scent and chilling with you? I think not."

"Damon," she chided, but with a smile.

"Alright. Fine, just a quick glance. But only to prove to you that-" He had grabbed his phone off the nightstand and sat up so quickly that Elena almost forgot that he wasn't a vampire anymore.

"What?" She asked, lifting herself up on one arm, the blanket revealing her naked upper body. Damon looked over to hear, almost regretfully so.

"As much as I hate to say this, beautiful, but you'll have to cover up and get dressed now. Choose something… fancy."

She frowned at him as he gave her a last quick kiss and stroked her body longingly once more, before he himself went over to grab some clothes.

"Where are we going? Who was the message from?"

"There seems to be a bit of an… awkward situation with Bon Bon and, uh… the escargot in her French restaurant seem to be a little sub par and my boy Enzo is not amused?"

Elena didn't need to be a genius to see through his lame attempt at evading the truth. She would have been angry. But she knew why he did it.

"It's my dad, isn't it?"

Damon raised his expressive eyebrows, "I'm sorry, babe… Come on, we gotta get going. While I don't know your dad well yet, I know that Enzo won't just sit still and wait for very long and I promised Bonnie I'd help her keep him out of trouble."

"A hothead keeping another hothead out of trouble?" Elena rolled her eyes. Perfect. Like that was gonna end well.

And in the middle of those two, her dad - and Elena herself.

* * *

...

"Can we talk about this?"

Caroline looked at Matt and shook her head.

She was sitting with him and Tyler at the Mystic Grill and tried to drown her sorrows in alcohol. Tyler raised his glass to her and downed it. Sitting hunched over, he didn't exactly look too happy, either.

Matt was frustrated with his two friends, but he couldn't really blame them either.

For the longest time, he had held a grudge against any and all supernatural beings and he had hated that side of his friends.

Yet here he sat, and suddenly, after all these years, he felt sorry for them and yes, he missed the people they used to be. He actually kind of missed their supernatural side. If the price of their humanity was that they were miserable, then he didn't want it anymore.

Caroline stared at her empty glass, and hollered over to the bartender for a refill.

"Care, I think you had enough. Remember, you're-"

"Not a vampire anymore? Yeah, thanks, Captain Obvious, I know that. I'm sure you're really happy about that."

"No, actually. I'm not." He surprised himself by saying it out loud. "I… I'm really sorry, Care."

Before she could say anything, her phone started ringing. She tensed, but decided to answer anyway.

"This better be good," she challenged.

"Hello, Caroline," a handsome voice said, and it made her even angrier that she _still_ had an instant reaction to it.

As if to thwart that reaction, she hissed, "Where were you when I needed you, huh? And why are you calling me _now?"_

* * *

...

It had taken all of Bonnie's persuasive powers to prevent Enzo from getting up and losing his cool. It had taken her _everything,_ but she had done it. He had remained seated and had promised to wait and share another bottle of the good wine. And she had held his clenched fist in her hand, stroking it, reminding him that the past was over.

And then that… that _man_ had had the audacity to just walk over to _their_ table and sat down facing them.

"Bonnie." He smiled. "It's so good to see you here…"

There was a pointed silence as she was torn between acknowledging the past, where he had just been dear Mr. Gilbert to her, almost an ersatz father, and the present, where he was one of the monsters haunting her lover's nightmares.

Some wounds were so deep that even without a visible scar, their pain could be forever palpable.

Mr. Gilbert leaned forward, it could have been an innocent gesture, but to Enzo it was a threat and he leaned forward even more, almost getting in the other's face. "You need to back off. Now," he gritted out, protectively shielding Bonnie from the man.

She grabbed his arm, leaning in to whisper something. "It's okay, Enzo. He won't hurt me. Please. _Please_ just don't do anything rash. Please…" her voice trailed off.

He didn't even look at her, though she knew it was simply because he couldn't bring himself to let the obvious threat of Mr. Gilbert's presence out of his sight.

Where was Damon? She needed him here. Stat. No way Enzo would sit there, passive, for much longer, with his tormentor taunting him like that.

Bonnie felt a prickle of powerful magic rise up inside of her. She only knew what it was because it was similar to what she had felt before the very first strange blast had erupted out of her. She knew she needed to get her feelings under control if she didn't want this to escalate horribly. Since she had no power yet to influence the outcome and didn't know how much it might weaken her, she _needed_ to rein in her magic until she was more confident about it - or at least until it was inevitable to use it.

 _Damon, come on,_ she prayed.

Out loud, she said, "Mr. Gilbert. Please have the decency to leave. You are not welcome here. Leave. Please."

He looked honestly surprised and slouched back in his chair a little, not a defeated gesture, but rather cocky.

Bonnie wasn't sure whether it was actually the case or just because of her changed perspective on him, but he didn't look nowhere near as nice and friendly - and homely - as she remembered.

He gave her an unreadable look, did she see a bit of concern in it? Disappointment? Before she could decipher it, he had focused his gaze on Enzo again and grinned.

"It's quite fascinating that you have ended up here of all places. Actually, I'd have never thought you'd even still be alive this late in the game."

"That's what it is to you, isn't it? A game." Enzo quietly observed. A little too quietly for Bonnie's liking. It was like the calm before the storm.

Mr. Gilbert smirked.

"A game disguised by the higher motive of studying the intricacies of human and immortal life," the former vampire added.

"Enzo, Enzo… you have no idea how interesting and important you've just become to the cause. An immortal turned human-"

"Like your daughter?" Enzo taunted, and his opponent's expression darkened.

"Let me guess, she is in no danger of ending up on a hard cold metal table somewhere, chained up for your… _studies,_ forever being torn apart. Did you know, though, that that's where I first met her?"

He felt Bonnie's hand on his arm. He had to focus on it, focus on her touch so that he wouldn't do anything stupid. He knew he wasn't up for a fair fight yet. He knew it. But his hackles were raised.

That man… he deserved to finally be punished, no matter who his daughter was or how _nice_ he had been outside of his 'work environment.'

Mr. Gilbert gritted his teeth and lashed his arm out to grab Enzo's shirt, right where he had injured him just a short while back. Bonnie almost jumped out of her seat, but Enzo remained eerily calm.

"My daughter," Gilbert hissed, "is none of your concern."

"Take your hands off him, now." Bonnie had stood up and her hostile stare told Mr. Gilbert that this was not just sweet young Bonnie Bennett anymore. No, she looked powerful, tall and proud. Her flaring nostrils showed him that she was barely restraining a real anger, anger directed at him. It hurt him to see it.

It hurt him even more to see her with the test subject. He knew that if she stayed by his side, she'd end up in the crossfire.

He didn't know, however, how hard she currently tried to keep her magic in check...

Before the situation could escalate any further, Bonnie finally heard a familiar voice, and she felt herself relax the tiniest bit.

"Oh, look sweetheart! If that isn't your dad and…" Damon acted all surprised. "Bonenzo! Well, what a nice surprise: a gathering of friends and family…" He grinned his wide contagious grin and placed a hand on Mr. Grayson's arm.

He cocked his head a little. "Grayson - or should I call you papa? - please kindly remove your hand now?" It sounded a little like a question, but when Grayson looked up, he saw menace in the other man's eyes.

"I can fight my own fights, Damon," Enzo grumbled, but Damon only grinned at him.

"Can you?" He asked. "Because… it really didn't look like you were even trying."

"Damon."

The two former vampires exchanged a long glance, Grayson Gilbert still keeping his hand in place.

"Dad!" Elena, who had looked on in shock, seemed to wake up out of a stupor.

For the longest time she had tried to block out the fact that her father used to work for the Augustine Society. It had worked pretty well when he was dead… She had just had to tell herself that those were two different men and that he was already long done doing anything atrocious and that he had probably regretted it anyways.

But now? Even from afar, she had seen the satisfaction in his face when he got the smallest reaction out of Enzo. She had seen him deliberately try to hurt Bonnie's boyfriend. This time Elena couldn't explain it away as self-defense.

She felt like she was falling, like the bottom was torn out from under her feet, or rather, the foundation was torn out from under her entire life.

"Dad! Stop it! Let go of him, let go!" She was so distraught, she actually found herself slapping her dad, hard, on the cheek.

The world came to a halt then.

She saw her dad look up to her, surprised. That same handsome face that she had always seen when she had scraped her knee or when she and Bonnie had had a fight, or when Jeremy had stolen her stuffed toys. This was the man that she had mourned for when he had died in that car accident with her. This was the man that had always, always been there for her. A gentle man, never once angry or loud or upset. Always fair in any sibling fight. Always such a great dad.

She had thought his dark past was just that: past. She had worked so hard to forget about it and treat it like it never happened. Or like at least it was something her dad probably never really wanted to do and was somehow obligated to do because of some sick perverted sense of family.

But the man that had returned from the dead was not that man anymore. And what had seemed like a wonderful gift of fate, turned into a sour nightmare.

"Let. Go."

All eyes were on her. Her dad's. Damon's. Bonnie's. Even Enzo's.

Strangely, it was Enzo she found herself looking at. She remembered the moment they had first met. Chained up. She remembered him humming. Singing.

She remembered…

She sighed, she felt tears burn in her eyes. It was strange. For what felt like the first time, she could see his pain. She could really really see what he'd been through; and her own father had been part of it.

"It's alright, Elena," Enzo whispered and nodded his head a little. "None of this has anything to do with you." His lip curled into a half smile. A sad, understanding smile.

How did he even know what she had been thinking? And why was he the one to try and console her, while her father remained noticeably silent?

"He's right, babe," Damon muttered, gently tugging at her. Her body was like a tense rod. She started shaking.

Her father was a monster and she… she didn't know how she could live with that.

It took them a few more minutes to sort out their mess.

Damon managed to get Elena out. He gently put his hand around her waist and guided her away from her still silent father. "Go, Elena. I'll be right with you. Let me just take care of this real quick, okay?"

She glanced up into his beautiful face, grateful that he took care of her mess. He gave her a small kiss on the cheek, just a graze of lips against her skin, then let her find her way out past the other, oblivious guests. She walked in a trance.

...

"Bon Bon? Will you and Mr. Englishman over here be alright now?" Damon asked and was glad to see her nod. Thankfully, there was no need any more to talk Enzo down from anything. Whatever he and Elena had seen in each other's eyes had taken care of that for the time being. Damon sighed then nodded to Bonnie before returning his attention to Elena's father.

"Alright, Grayson," he chirped, "Let's get you outta here." He gripped the other man hard. He was not superhumanly strong anymore, and he depended on Grayson not putting up a fight, so he breathed out a small breath of relief when the other man shrugged him off, but at least finally let go of Enzo and started walking past them all.

"Let's do this again, sometime, Mr. St. John," Gilbert said smugly, still walking, then he shot a glare at Damon.

"Damon."

They all followed him with their eyes for a minute before Damon waved to Bonnie and Enzo and followed the other man.

"I better make sure he doesn't catch up with Elena. She can be a bit… intense in certain situations, as we all know, and I dare say this may very well be such a moment," he said and grinned again. "Oh, and you two love birds, drink another bottle of red on me, will ya?"

With that he was gone and Bonnie and Enzo were finally alone again.

* * *

 _Thank you again for the reviews! So very much appreciated! Shadowdancer: I love your thoughtful feedback so much. The same thing has always bothered me about Elena - or rather, the shows handling of that whole storyline. Which is why I'll be tackling it. (And I also rather like Delena and was a little sad as to how lame their last scenes were together...)_


	7. Stockholm Syndrome

...

It was as if they just crumpled in on themselves. Bonnie let out a loud sigh as she leaned into her boyfriend, exhausted and relieved.

Only when Mr. Gilbert had finally let go of him, had he finally grimaced and thus acknowledged a form of pain or discomfort to Bonnie. Now he sat next to her, his arms resting on the table, his head hanging down almost as if in defeat.

She cuddled up more, gently wrapping an arm around him. She couldn't help it, she was so very concerned about him.

"Are you alright?" she whispered, and saw him raise himself up and fully look at her for the first time since Grayson Gilbert had ruined their evening.

He squared his shoulders, ignoring any pain, smiled at her, and said, "I will be again, love. You being here with me… it means everything to me, you…" He trailed off for a moment before he added, "I won't let this ruin our beautiful night. I distinctly remember where we left off and I'd love to continue, if you don't mind. But first," he raised a hand to wave over to the waiter, "let's order that bottle of wine."

He smiled at her, and she smiled right back, feeling her cheeks flush in anticipation.

Gosh, he looked so incredibly handsome in a black tuxedo.

And suddenly she remembered another incidence where he had worn one just like that - maybe even that very same one…

* * *

...

* * *

[ _Three years ago..._ ]

...

It was Grams' birthday, and because it had become her little tradition, Bonnie had put down some fresh flowers on her grave and brought a box of fancy donuts to eat in her honor. Not because Grams had liked donuts particularly much. Rather, the opposite.

She had rolled her eyes whenever Bonnie had wanted one and had always told her, _Maybe, maybe when I'm dead and gone you can finally get some and eat them. But as long as I'm still here, there'll be no donuts. That's not cake, Bonnie. That's a disaster!_

And then she had whipped up cake batter in practically no time and there had been cake - the best cake - and they'd eaten it until their bellies were full and they were laughing.

Bonnie was no baker, she sucked pretty hard at anything kitchen related, and so she had decided to do the donuts instead. It had turned into her little inside joke.

On that day, however, she was just so terribly sad and upset, and Elena wasn't there, and Caroline was busy, and life just kind of sucked and the stupid donuts suddenly didn't seem so funny anymore.

So she had taken them and shoved them in her purse. She'd just go for a walk instead. A walk among the graves, visiting a few familiar names here and there…

She found herself drawn to the Salvatore's crypt. There was no real surprise there, but then, once she got there, there actually _was_ a surprise waiting for her.

Lorenzo St. John was sitting right in the front, a dark man in a dark suit, his hair slicked back perfectly. He could have been a friggin' model! She huffed, annoyed. Whatever was he doing there?

For a second she wondered whether she could just swiftly turn around and leave without ever having to exchange any words. Seeing as he was a vampire, though, and he had probably already heard her approach from a mile away, she knew she was out of luck.

"Alright," she therefore called out, raising her purse as if in surrender, "dear cruel fate, please just get it over with already. Let the vampire do his spiel and let's get on with life."

Enzo looked at her briefly, arms resting on his knees, holding just the stem of a rose in his hands.

"Did you tear the poor flower's head off?" She asked, indicating the stem with a jerk of her head, and she saw his jaw muscles work as he made a face without really looking at her. "Is that, what, a new manifestation of your neck fetish?"

"Very funny, Bonnie Bennett."

She raised her head, her hair falling to her back. She squinted a little against the light. It was too bright for her bad mood. Something about his tone got to her, though, and she frowned. He sounded rather... sad.

"So," she began, a weird nervous urge to keep talking taking a hold of her. As if their usual banter was something that _had_ to happen when they met. "Are you gonna try and knock me out again? Although," she looked around theatrically, "I doubt you'd wanna kidnap any of the present company."

"She died," he muttered, so quiet that she barely heard him. His head drooped. "She died and I wasn't even there to… I wasn't even there."

The non-sequitur caught her off guard. It took her a moment before she understood who he was talking about even though their location should have made it obvious. Bonnie felt a sudden pang of sympathy. Unwanted, but undeniable.

"Lily," she said and it came out a little too much like a scoff, a verbalized eye-roll. She was just so over that woman and the impact she had had on her sons - the people in her life in general. Including Enzo. (And why did she care about him?) It was a good thing that poor Elena didn't have to suffer through dancing around her future mother-in-law.

Bonnie's unwanted company still wasn't looking at her, but kept quietly rolling the thorny stem of the rose in his hands. Slowly, she walked over to him, she didn't really know why. It was not like he was a friend after all. Yet in some corner of her heart, she detected the tiniest spot for him. She was a bit annoyed with herself for it, but what could she do?

She walked close enough that she could finally see how bruised and broken his knuckles were. She raised her eyebrows, then her face scrunched up in sympathy.

"Do I need to check in there whether you broke anything of value?" She pointed behind him, into the crypt.

"I know. Dignity. It's free, I should get some… blah blah," he looked at her, then at his hands, before he slowly got to his feet. "Don't worry, love, I didn't break anything but my hands. You can check if it makes you feel better."

"Enzo…"

He sighed audibly as his face scrunched up a little, traitorously. He bit down hard, and turned away from her, his body tense and straight.

"I'm sorry," Bonnie whispered. "I'm really sorry." She stretched out a hand and lightly touched his arm. She half expected him to snap at her or act all cocky and aloof, but all he did was turn around and let her see the tears welling in his eyes.

For a minute or two they just stood there, her grip on his arm tightened, her other hand rising up to meet his cheek. When she touched it, it was so surprisingly warm, so… alive. She left her hand there for a moment, staring into his eyes, strangely mesmerized, before he gently took her hand in his, held it, then removed it.

"Thank you, Bonnie Bennett," he whispered, surprising her again. Then: "Looks like I just don't know what dignity is…"

And with that, he walked away from her.

She stood there for a little while longer, unsure of what to think or feel. Then she remembered the donuts and decided, this encounter was definitely sprinkles-worthy.

* * *

...

* * *

...

Outside the restaurant, Damon found Elena waiting. Her back pressed against the cool brick, she just stood there, waiting, her beautiful face hidden behind her hands. The wind had its way with her hair, blowing it in all directions, and Damon found himself just looking at her for a while, taking her in.

She was so beautiful.

When he finally walked over to her and murmured a "hello gorgeous" in her ear, she startled a bit.

"Damon."

She had cried. Her eyes were red and a little puffy. Damon frowned. That stupid father of hers. Bonnie's little magic trick had put quite the damper on his happily ever after with Elena.

Then again, that same magic trick was also the reason why he was even here with Elena already, and as a human to boot, rather than still biding his time until she woke up. Or worse, he could have still been busy trying to get rid of "Cadevil."

He pulled her into a sidehug and kissed the crown of her head. "Come on, babe. Let's go home. I'm sorry your dad is such a dick-"

"That's just the thing, though, Damon. He's not just a 'dick,' he's a horrible person. Yet I still love him. - The side of him I know anyway. And what does that make me?" She sniffled, but she started walking with him, clinging to him as they went.

"Well…" Damon couldn't help a grin, "it makes you a good person. It makes you you. Besides. I'm a horrible person, and you love me too. So there's that." He tried to keep it light, but he could tell that she wasn't really falling for it.

"No. This whole thing got me thinking. I mean, I've had to explain myself a lot to people. Why I am with you, after all that you've done and all that..."

Damon furrowed his brow. "Really?" He said. He wondered who she'd had to explain that to.

"I mean, you killed my brother. It doesn't get much worse than that-"

"To be fair-"

She didn't even let him finish. "But what I tell people is this: the things you do? The bad things? Usually they're results of your feelings being hurt and you lashing out in one way or another. Granted, you could definitely use some better coping mechanisms-"

" _You_ are my coping mechanism."

"Damon," she chided, and bumped his chest with her fist, but lightly. "I'm serious. - Anyways. I know you're not without fault. I know you've done horrible things. But you were also a vampire, you had needs. My dad, though? He's been with the Augustine Society for years. Years! I don't even want to know for how long he tortured Enzo, or what he did to him-"

"Elena…"

"Just imagine you hadn't escaped back in the 1950s. It could have been you! My father could have tortured _you!_ And not just as a spur of the moment type of thing, not because he was forced into it by family loyalty. No, he wanted it! And he still does! Did you hear what he said to Enzo? How he'd be so valuable now? - I… I mean, we are all vampires-turned-humans now. Does… does that mean he'd sell us all out to his 'friends' if the society was still around? - Not to mention that he made it sound like they were still active somewhere, somehow... The man I loved and that brought me up like I was his own? My dad?"

She was crying again, and Damon didn't really have any comfort for her other than his touch. So he held her, stopped in his tracks and just held her where they were, until her sobs subsided and she had composed herself a little again.

There was no denying that Grayson Gilbert seemed to be bad news. Damon had endured the Augustine torture for five long years. He knew that those _people_ were worse than any vampire he had ever met. Worse than Ripper Stefan, worse than any supernatural being.

And he knew that while he'd always, always take Elena's side, he hoped that didn't mean he'd one day have to take Grayson Gilbert's side over Enzo's. Because he knew he wouldn't be able to do that.

* * *

...

Caroline was tired. So very tired, and so drunk. She had trouble opening the door - what a cliché - and it didn't help that her blonde hair kept obscuring her view.

"Oh come on!" She gave the door a kick and rested her throbbing head against the cool wood.

"Great, I don't think my life could get any more pathetic if I tried."

"Let me try…" Tyler shot her a glance and smiled.

She had almost forgotten that he was still there. A pang of regret entered her heart and she felt bad for that, too. He deserved better, but…

"I'm sorry, Ty, but I really think we should call it a night." She had turned around and held his jacket lapels in her fists like her balance depended on it.

"Okay," he said. "I could still help you with the door, though. No worries, I won't take advantage of you."

They both laughed. It was all a little awkward. Why had they even allowed that kissing back at the car to happen? At least they seemed to be on the same page about it all.

"Thanks, I think I'd really really like that." Caroline smiled and handed him the keys, relieved. But just as he was about to put the key in the lock, the door suddenly sprung open and there was Stefan.

And she felt like a teenager that had just been caught doing something bad.

"Stefan…"

"Caroline."

"You're… you're back? You…" she looked from him to Tyler, then back. Then she hid her face in her hands. "Oh gosh. I know this looks bad, but we…"

Unexpectedly, Stefan merely smiled. "It's okay, Care, I remember being drunk and careless."

"No. No! It was…"

"Nothing happened, man," Tyler chimed in a little awkwardly. "I think I'll… just go now. Caroline?"

"Ya. Uh, thanks Ty. See you later! Thanks for the, uh, ride. And the drinks."

"Anytime. - Stefan?"

"Tyler."

Once he was on his way to the car and she still stood in front of the door, she breathed out a stream of stale sour air. "Ugh, I think I might be-"

But she couldn't hold it in anymore and threw up right onto poor Stefan's sneakered feet.

He raised his eyebrows, then couldn't stifle a laugh. "The awkward kiss I saw you guys exchange in the car I'll forgive and forget, because I was away and a bit of a selfish asshole - but I don't think i can forgive you for ruining my favorite kicks like that."

"A bit?" She mumbled, wiping her mouth, before accepting his help by grabbing his proffered hand and crossing the puddle of gross between them.

"Okay, I was a big selfish asshole," he corrected as he pulled her close. Rank smell of vomit sticking to them both or not, he needed to hug her. He needed her.

Later, when she had cleaned herself up while he had taken care of her mess, they had both fallen asleep on the couch for a little bit. Long enough for her to wake up less drunk, but with a more fierce hangover headache.

"Let me make you a coffee," Stefan suggested and was already on his way to the kitchen. "Or do you rather want a Gatorade and some anchovies?"

Caroline almost gagged. "Ugh, geez, Stefan! I'm not a frat boy with a hangover, I'm a mothe- a woman with a pounding head. Coffee for me, please. No milk. And gimme all the sugar."

Only once her cup was almost empty and she had gotten really comfortable cuddling against her boyfriend, did she remember why she was so angry and what she had wanted to tell him.

"So, as if you leaving me here in order to travel around with Valerie - ex-girlfriend Valerie, might I add - wasn't enough already, why the hell did you think it was appropriate to ask Klaus friggin' Mikaelson to call me?"

She shoved Stefan a bit, and stared at him, pouting. "Was that your cruel idea of a joke?"

"Care… I thought he could help you."

"Help me? Klaus? _You_ are supposed to be the one helping me, the one to be always there for me. - If you're not traveling around with any ex-girlfriends that is."

"I wasn't traveling with her for fun. You know that. She is a heretic and she was the only one who could help me take care of the mess I left behind when I turned human. If you were still a vampire, I'd have rather it had been you. Trust me."

"Right." She still pouted. She didn't want to let him off so easily. "That doesn't explain Klaus."

"Caroline. I know how upset you've been. How devastated. About Alaric and Jo. The twins. About losing your vampire strength. And while I can't really help with any of that, other than being there for you-"

"And you've failed miserably at that", she shot and was a tiny bit glad she saw the pain that crossed his face at her words.

"Well, ya. I'm so sorry, Caroline. I am sorry. I'll do better now. I promise." They exchanged a glance. She was such a sap, she chided herself, but she had already started to forgive him.

"Klaus?" She then prompted, not wanting to let him off the hook too easily.

"Klaus… I knew he'd be able to help with one thing, and I knew he'd be the only one I'd trust to be gentle and careful about it - because it is you. And we all know that he has a thing for you. Well, anyways. I asked him to turn you again."

"You- what?"

Before she could say anything else, the doorbell rang and she used that as an excuse to evade the conversation she didn't really want to have.

As it was, she now opened the door to a distraught looking Alaric with two little girls and a bunch of suitcases by his side.

"Mommy!" The girls yelled excitedly.

"Caroline." Alaric gave her an apologetic look.

All she could do was stand there, open mouthed, and then finally kneel down to embrace Josie and Lizzie. And then the tears came.

* * *

...

Bonnie woke up with a sudden sense of urgency. As if something had alerted her that she was needed. A strange feeling. Did it have anything to do with Grams watching over her?

Ever since she had talked to her grandma on that other plane of existence, she was constantly worrying about what the old woman could have meant. Bonnie was scared. Had her blast basically just made it so that they'd traded one menace - Cade - for another? And wasn't it worse now that they didn't know what or who that new menace was?

She felt so bad already about the heartache she had caused poor Caroline. Last time she tried, Caroline hadn't even wanted to talk to her, though at least Elena had informed her a few days ago that it seemed that there was a real chance the twins would be living with or at least close to her again. Apparently something was going on between Alaric and Jo. Another thing she felt responsible for. Ugh.

Her thoughts were going a mile a minute. She felt a headache start to form, when she noticed Enzo next to her toss and turn way more than was usual for him. She nudged him gently, with no reaction.

"Enzo?" She wanted to make sure he didn't have a nightmare or anything. He wasn't prone to them - at least as far as she could tell, but ever since he had first seen Grayson Gilbert back alive, something had changed there. To her, it almost seemed like he was suffering from some long suppressed, now slowly erupting PTSD. It was only understandable, and it worried her.

When he didn't wake up, she decided to watch over his sleep, just in case he woke up at some point and needed her. There was a light sheen of sweat on his forehead that she gently wiped away just as he suddenly opened his eyes and stared at her.

He took a gasping breath and sat up, his hand, his arms shielding his body as best as he could. She sat up right next to him, keeping her distance so as not to disturb him.

"Enzo. Enzo… you're alright. You're with me," she soothed, "you're alright."

He looked at her then and lowered his arms, defeated. Exhausted. He wiped over his face and rubbed his eyes. "Sorry, love. Did I wake you up?"

"No, babe. I was already up. - Bad dream?"

He grimaced, but didn't say anything. She decided to let it be; she didn't want to pry or make him relive any bad memories.

Just then he said, "I guess some things will always come back to haunt you, no matter how hard you try to forget. - At least now I have you to make good memories with to replace the bad ones, Bonnie Bennett."

With that, he pulled her down onto the blankets again and they just held each other very close for a long time before their gentle tender touches and kisses gradually turned into something more...

* * *

 _..._

 _Thank you two for the nice reviews again! Anna: there'll definitely be an Elena - parent scene coming up. And shadowdancer: I love what you say about how children see their parents._

 _It will remain to be seen how Grayson and Elena deal with their situation. But ya, I definitely think it's often the humans that act worse than the vampires when you really look at it all._

 _Also, I heard about the proposal scene. But not that it's not even included in the DVD?! Aw, that sucks. They should have really given the finale double length, or at least 15 minutes more screen time. But oh well._


	8. Closing Time

...

A few months had passed since a psychic blast of unknown proportions had changed all of their lives. It had transpired pretty quickly that the changes had mostly been centered in and around Mystic Falls, more specifically around Bonnie and her immediate circle of friends. It was, somehow, all tied to her. Seeing as she had been the one to cause it in the first place, it was, of course, not all that surprising.

What was, however, surprising, was the fact that they hadn't heard or seen anything of Cade or his hell dimension anymore. He had had made no claims on anyone's lives or souls. He hadn't tried to hunt down the Salvatores or Bonnie, or anyone for that matter.

It was almost as if he was gone. Maybe his psychic plane, his hell, had imploded in on itself? No one was sure and they all thought it best to try and investigate and check the armory and other places for any evidence on the nature of "the devil."

It meant a whole slew of work for Alaric, who was back in town with no real plans of returning to Dallas anytime soon, and who had decided to make the devil a class for his students. He was back teaching, and it seemed to help him cope with his private life a little better. It was also interesting to be working with Bonnie in the armory, where they tried to look deeper into her powers and what she had done.

When he got home from a long day, he usually found the twins giggling happily with Caroline in the kitchen, or splashing water in the garden, or drawing pictures together at the big table, and he felt a sense of home and completion.

But then he thought of Jo and his heart would start feeling heavy. She had stayed in his house in Dallas at first, but her desire, her _need_ to be with her kids had been too strong. So she had come to Mystic Falls, too, where she lived not far from them.

Alaric sighed as he entered the oddly quiet house now to get the girls. They spent the nights at his place, but during the days they were usually first at home with Alaric or at Jo's and then, when they had to go to work, the twins went over to Caroline's. Thankfully, Caroline had been able to align her work schedule with his and Jo's, something he couldn't thank her enough for. _Another_ thing he couldn't ever thank her enough for...

It was still a new arrangement, and everyone was very wary of each other, but it helped them all out, and they all got to spend time with their kids. Alaric was secretly terrified of what the whole parenting triangle might do to the girls, however, and he tried to find a better solution. If only he could get his head to be a little more in the game.

"Hello girls, daddy's here to pick you up!" He called out as he got to Caroline's after a particularly long day, and he found the three of them huddled up on the couch, looking at books together.

"Hey daddy!" Lizzie said, turning around now, jumping on the couch. "Mommy just told us the story of how she came to be our mommy!"

"Oh?" He was a bit perplexed. "She did?"

"Ya! She said we were so special that we needed two mommies. And and and - that mommy Jo was our first mommy, but an evil man decided she shouldn't be with us and so he took her away."

Josie peeked up from behind the couch cushions, too. "A very evil man," she whispered.

"Yes. But he didn't know that we had another mommy who was there to take care of us."

"Mommy Caroline!" Josie piped up, as if it wasn't obvious. Alaric couldn't help but smile as he saw Caroline gave him an apologetic grin.

"And when the evil man was found and put away in a jail that no one can escape, he had to return mommy Jo as well. So now we have two mommies!" She ended their story triumphantly.

Meanwhile, Alaric had walked over to the big couch and sat down on one of the armrests. He put on a fake thoughtful look and scratched his chin theatrically as he asked, "But is it okay that you only have one dad?"

The girls both rolled their eyes at him. Caroline stifled a laugh.

"Silly daddy!" both called out at the same time. "Of course it is! Because you're a very special daddy already! Because we are special, and you are our daddy!" It all made so much sense to them, he started laughing.

"Duh!" He made, and finally scooped them both up. "Then let this extra special daddy get you girls home and to bed. Say goodnight to mommy Caroline."

"Goodnight, mommy!" They blew kisses as she walked up to the three of them, waving.

"Family hug!" Alaric announced, and they all threw themselves at Caroline in their usual nighttime routine.

"Thanks," Ric whispered and smiled, and Caroline briefly stroked his arm.

"Thank _you,"_ she muttered, then louder, "goodnight Josie, goodnight Lizzie! I love you girls sooo much! Now promise me you'll quickly go to sleep and don't cause daddy any trouble when putting on your PJs!"

"Okay, mommy! Love you, mommy!" And they blew her more kisses as they all went outside and to the car.

Saying goodnight and goodbye was always especially bittersweet.

* * *

...

One thing that had definitely changed in Damon's life was the need for an actual, real job.

To celebrate that he had finally gotten the license to serve alcohol in his newly opened bar, he had invited a few people over for an open bar event. As he swaggered over to a small table toward the back, he called out nonchalantly, "And a round of shots for those once wrongfully killed by Damon Salvatore when he was still a vampire."

He grinned at Vickie, then Tyler, then Matt, then he added, "Sorry Mattie, I guess that excludes you. You'll have to wait for the next round then."

Matt merely rolled his eyes at him when he caught Elena's glance from a table further to the front, where she sat with Bonnie and Caroline. She looked a little apologetic, and Matt shook his head. He still didn't understand what she saw in Damon, and how she could have ever forgiven him for all his _shortcomings,_ but he had finally accepted it as fact and decided he'd stop bringing it up.

Over at the bar, Stefan was waiting for his brother, and when the older Salvatore eventually sat down next to him, swiveling in his chair, he said, "So… to what do I owe this rare pleasure?" He pointed at a big walled glass with brown liquid in front of him and finally picked it up to slosh it around a bit.

Damon did the same with his very own glass.

"Brother, only the best for you," he said, and breathed in with closed eyes as he drank.

He had ordered the really good stuff. His favorite bourbon.

"Rip-bar? Really?" Stefan was still a little upset about the stupid title Damon had given his bar.

"In memory of my beloved brother's alter ego." Damon grinned.

"Damon," Stefan warned him.

"What? I'm being _nice!"_

"Keep telling yourself that." Stefan finished the bourbon in just a few sips, then turned around to take in the scene. Damon followed his example.

"Despite your opinion on the name, this place isn't so bad, is it?"

The younger Salvatore looked around. It was a modern bar with old style elements, lots of wood, a wall with mirrored shelves displaying lots of bottles, a big stylized name sign above the entrance. Like a higher end version of the Mystic Grill with less food and more drinks, and admittedly a much better atmosphere. Maybe because it was small and kind of cozy.

"It's really nice, Damon," he easily admitted and Damon raised an eyebrow.

"Just nice?"

"It's great, okay?" Stefan huffed, then added a little more sincere, "It really is. You did good. You seem to be born for this new human life, brother."

Damon frowned at his brother's somber tone. "What's up with you? You're no fun today, Stef. Long day at the garage or something?"

"Something like that."

Stefan just wasn't in the mood for Damon's usual banter. His new job at a local garage was not the problem. It was his relationship. He and Caroline were still trying to mend things and live together as a newly human couple, and the return of the twins - while great for Caroline - wasn't really helping with their alonetime much.

That wasn't even taking Alaric into consideration, who kept hovering. He gave a sigh and finally said as much to his brother. Then, he bent over the bar table and pointed to the bottle of bourbon. "Can I have another?"

"Sure thing, coming right up." Damon pulled out the bottle and gave his brother and himself another serving. He patted Stefan on the back. "Come on, man, you can't blame Ric, can you?" Damon showed unusual understanding.

"You're taking his side? I thought you guys had broken up or something."

"He's funny! Everyone: Stefan is trying to be funny," Damon pretended to address the whole bar, but Stefan didn't care. Damon quickly sobered. "He's just trying to keep his family together. You'd do the same, you know you would. Unfortunately, in his case that includes Care bear as well, so that's tough…"

"I get that, thanks." The younger brother sounded annoyed. He wasn't here to be told the obvious by his brother.

Damon raised his hands as if in surrender. "Alright. I'm… I know the timing sucks and you are super busy atoning for past sins while I haven't even really started, but…"

Was that… did Damon's cheeks just flush a little? Stefan was slightly amused, and intrigued. What was his brother up to now?

"I want to ask Elena to marry me. I mean, duh, right?"

"Damon! That is awesome news!" Stefan looked sincerely happy as he rose to give his brother a hug and a pat on the back. "About time, too."

"Ya well… it's just the start of a plan for now, nothing real yet, it may still be quite a while till I'll actually do it."

Stefan smiled. Sometimes Damon was very transparent. The man was anxious and when he was anxious he started stalling.

"Anyways," Damon started stammering, "I'd - I'd need a best man and I'd like that to be you."

Stefan's heart ached. He was both ridiculously happy for Damon and honored his brother had chosen him for the position, and at the same time he couldn't shake the feeling that it should have been the other way around. That _he_ should have been the one planning on getting married, with Caroline as his bride.

Now, though, there was no knowing whether there was even a real chance for that to happen anytime soon. Until they had untangled their relationship mess, nothing was going to happen.

He mentioned none of that to his brother, of course, and simply said: "I'd be honored, Damon."

The brothers hugged again, longer this time. By the way Damon's grip on him tightened, Stefan could tell that the older understood more than he'd verbalized and that knowledge was strangely soothing.

* * *

...

Over at Elena's, Caroline's, and Bonnie's table the initial excitement and happiness had long passed. The three girls had fallen awkwardly silent and their meeting had gotten stale quickly.

"Okay," Elena finally sighed, frustrated and a little sad, "can't you two please be friends again? I hate it when you're not talking. I kinda really need you both right now and… I just want my best friends back."

Caroline and Bonnie exchanged a guilty look; a first good sign? Elena could only hope. At least they had agreed to meet…

"I'm sorry, Caroline." Bonnie's quiet apology surprised her friends equally. Elena had been prepared to negotiate for a while before the two girls were willing to apologize to each other. They were both so strong headed, after all, especially when it came to family matters.

"I know you're mad at me, and I get it," Bonnie continued, and Elena could already see that Caroline's features had softened. That prominent line between her eyebrows was smoothed out.

"I really do. I wish I understood better what happened and how I did it. I wish I had had any actual conscious influence on it. Because I would have never ever willingly let you suffer."

Bonnie's desperation was evident. There was not much she could say, because she really didn't understand any of it, yet, and a part of her wished the stupid blast had never happened like that.

"I know that." Caroline' voice was barely above a whisper. "Ach, Bonnie. I guess I just needed… someone to put the blame on and… I'm sorry too."

The girls started crying, a crying that soon turned into giggles and laughter at the end of which Elena soberly proclaimed, "Well, that was easy."

She earned herself a few fake slaps that way.

"Ow!" She made, laughing, just as Damon came up from behind her, hugging her.

"Someone here in need of a few more drinks?" He inquired. "Elena, darling? Bon? Blondie?"

Elena merely waved an arm. "Barkeep? Give us something good."

"Alright." Damon beamed. "A round of tequila shots for the table of the sisterhood of the crying girls!" He yelled, clapped his hands and was off.

The three friends rolled their eyes, then burst out laughing again.

For the first time in a long time they finally had a great night with stories and laughter and lots of reminiscing together again. And it was beautiful.

* * *

 _..._

 _Thank you again for reading - and for the great reviews. Really, you don't need many reviews to keep you going when the ones you get are so thoughtful. Thank you!_

 _Shadowdancer: that's exactly what always bothered me with TV shows, not just TVD: how they often seem to forget how traumatic some things should be and how mental and physical injuries can have lasting effects._


	9. I hate everything about you

...

 _Small hands that clung to the bottom hem of a man's overcoat. Bloody knuckles, dirty fingernails._

 _The sound of crying. A slap, then: whimpering. And the horrible empty feeling of a giant pit in his stomach. They were going to leave him behind. They were going to leave him alone._

 _Despite everything they'd done to him, he still loved them, and he couldn't bear the thought of how much they must hate him to leave him like that..._

...

A shattering sound startled Enzo awake. An involuntary shaking racked his body for a moment before he managed to get himself under control. That horrible dream…

There was another sound and he was instantly alert, his senses on edge. After he had gotten a little more used to being human again, they had eventually started to feel less dull, and more like second nature. It was what it was. He could get used to almost anything.

Almost.

He didn't need to turn on the light. His night vision was still incredibly good. Who knew, maybe it was an after effect from being locked up in that dark room all those years ago. Everything they had done to him had made him who he was.

A scraping sound. A too loud exhalation, then an "Oh, come on!"

A smile formed on his lips. He turned the corner and there she was, Bonnie, kneeling on the floor, not a foot from the still open door, trying to pick up the shards of that ugly vase she had insisted they keep next to the door as an umbrella stand. And who needed an umbrella stand anyways?

"Let me do that, love." His voice sounded hoarse from sleep and maybe a bit from the bourbon he had had earlier, over at Damon's new bar.

She looked up, defeated, and ready to cry. "I ruined the vase…"

"It's alright, love. I'll get you another one."

"You never even liked this one." She pouted. She was very adorable when she was upset. But he'd better keep that thought to himself.

"No," he admitted, "I never did. But it doesn't matter. _You_ did, and I'll promise I'll find you another one just as ugly as this one to replace it."

She tried to slap him, but missed. She rolled her eyes at herself, "I swear I only had two shots, Elena and Vickie had way more! Caroline didn't, but she…"

"Oh ya? Shots of what?"

"Tequila? I think? - I really shouldn't have agreed to that, I have to teach tomorrow and there's shards of porcelain all over the floor and-"

"I'll take care of that. But first… let me escort you to your chambers, Ms. Bennett." And with that, he swiftly picked her up and carried her over to the bedroom. She didn't even protest, she just wrapped her arms around his neck and leaned her weary head against his chest.

Only the next morning would she remember his injury and worry whether she had hurt him at all.

When Enzo had laid her down, taken her shoes off and put a blanket over her, he stroked her hair and watched her starting to fall asleep.

"I hope it was a good girls' night out then, love."

"Ya," she mumbled, smiling, she was already half asleep. She clung to his hand, and pulled him close to her. He sunk down right next to her, thinking the vase could wait until morning.

"Care and I made up, we think Damon will propose soon, Vickie is starting to come around a little, and I think I finally got them to understand that you and I aren't just some Stockholm syndrome creepy type of couple…"

"Oh ya? And may I ask how you managed to convince them?"

"I may have told them..." Her breathing evened out and she fell asleep before she ever got to finish her sentence. He smiled. "Good night, Bonnie Bennett," he whispered and softly kissed her forehead.

* * *

...

Jeremy had flown in to see Elena as soon as she had woken up. To see his parents, too. But he had had to go back quickly to complete an elaborate mission, a hunting trip they had planned for near on a year and whose execution depended on him being there.

As he sat in his small "office" now, still grimy from the road, he felt a sense of longing when he finally returned her latest call. As soon as he had gotten back, Amber had told him Elena needed to talk to him, and that it sounded urgent, and he had found himself running in and straight to his phone.

"Elena?"

"Jeremy!" She pretty much yelled his name, and for a second he was alarmed, until he remembered that Damon had opened a bar and that that was probably where she was hanging out right then.

"Amber said you called and it was urgent…"

"What? Excuse me, hello? - Ugh, Damon stop! It's Jer, let me… - Jer? Jeremy?"

For a moment there he thought their connection would just end, but then it got much quieter and suddenly he could actually understand her.

"Sorry about that, Damon is trying out his new subwoofer and… anyways, Jer. How'd the hunt go?"

He smiled. He could just see her now, standing outside the bar, phone pressed to her ear, wearing her typical "worried older sister" expression.

"It went alright," he lied. He didn't want to worry her.

"Jer. You're not lying to me, are you?"

She was too smart for her own good. He had to cut to the chase if he wanted to evade further questions. "So, what's up? What's so urgent? Do you need me to come out to Mystic Falls?" He laughed.

"To be honest, I kinda really need you here, Jeremy. It's… you remember how we found out dad used to work for the Augustine Society, right?"

"Yeah, of course…" Jeremy fell silent and bit his lip. He didn't like to be reminded of that part of their family's history. And he knew for a fact that Elena bringing it up right now wasn't a great sign.

It remained quiet on the other end and he started frowning.

"Elena?"

"It's just… I really tried to focus on the good stuff they did. Like Megan… But that was when he was still-"

"Dead. Right."

"I need to talk to him about a few… 'things,' and I thought maybe you could help me?"

Jeremy rubbed his eyes. For a moment he looked down on his bloodied muddied shoes, his soaked shirt. He wasn't sure Elena would appreciate or accept what had become of him. It was easy from a distance, but in the same city?

He was also still wary of the return of his parents. Of Bonnie with Enzo… Of Vickie being back.

Of a lot of things. Mystic Falls was not the same to him as it was to Elena. To him, it was no longer home, but a reminder of all the pain he'd had to endure. And the return of the dead people in his life was a little too much to deal with at the moment.

 _You okay?_ Amber mouthed from the doorway, where she had just poked her head in. He tried to smile, and nodded.

"Elena…" he drew out her name and could feel her breathing change.

"You're not coming back here, are you?" She sounded defeated, and he felt a pang of guilt. He loved her more than anyone. He didn't want to hurt her, but...

"I'm sorry, I…" He couldn't help a stupid shake creeping into his voice.

She surprised him by understanding before he had said anything else.

"It's alright, Jer. I get it. Too much happened here. I'm guessing Bonnie still being here doesn't help much, either, huh?"

He imagined her smiling knowingly as he could only manage a grumble.

"I'll let you go now," she said warmly. "I love you, Jer. Please be safe out there, and… call me a little more often, okay?"

"I will. I'm sorry, Elena."

"It's okay. Don't be."

"I love you."

With that, he hung up. He was still holding his phone long after they had ended their conversation. It was Amber who finally jolted him out of his thoughts by grabbing it and saying, "Come on, lazy, let's clean that nasty pick up truck now."

He nodded an okay, then followed her out. There was so much blood. It really was disgusting.

* * *

...

When Bonnie woke up in the morning, Enzo had already gotten up to run some errands for Damon. The two had agreed on being partners of sorts, with Damon acting as bar patron and dealing with their distributors, while Enzo was doing a lot of the "behind the scenes" work. Today he was supposed to meet up with an accountant to go over their books.

Even thinking about it made Bonnie shake her head in wonder. This Enzo was so different from the person she used to think he was. She smiled a little wistfully. Their relationship had started out very rocky. She still vividly remembered how she had hated him.

But now here they were.

Slowly, she peeled herself out of the sheets, then got up to get a shower. She was relieved that her headache wasn't too bad after all. An ibuprofen or two should be enough. And abstinence for the foreseeable future!

As the water pelted down on her skin, she just enjoyed it for a bit. The building steam wafted out of the shower and soon filled the small bathroom while she just stood there and let her thoughts wander… She remembered her friends' stricken faces when she had told them about hiding from the Armory, and how she had been so angry at Enzo at first…

...

He had looked at her, had tried to explain himself, and for some weird reason she had believed him that he had good intentions. She still wasn't quite sure why, but apparently she'd always had the tiniest soft spot for him, even if for the longest time she hadn't admitted it to herself.

She'd only been in the cabin for two weeks or so, laying low, when she had told him she'd had enough and that she'd rather fight the Armory heads on with her friends than hiding forever until it all blew over. Besides, she hated feeling so powerless and dependent on him of all people.

To her utter surprise he had agreed almost immediately, and without a fight, to take her back. His reaction had left her flustered. She still remembered thinking a bewildered, "Okay?" There had been something in his eyes that day, she still didn't know what, and she'd never asked him...

They had sat together in the car for what felt like a long time, and barely said a word. It was very untypical for both of them. But it had been a strange time.

In the end, what had persuaded her that he was the only person that actually had her interests at heart, the one person that put himself at risk to protect her, instead of the other way around, the first selfless person she'd been around in a long time, was the fact that none of her so-called friends had even noticed she'd been gone.

She had been gone for over two weeks and no one had noticed. Their lives had simply gone on. Granted, they all had had a lot of stuff going on in their lives - or they had currently been unavailable like Elena and Damon - but still, it had been quite eye opening.

Caroline had started crying when Bonnie had told her about it last night, and of course Bonnie had felt bad about it. But it was what it was. It wouldn't stand between them. It had simply led Bonnie's life on the path it was on now, and that was with Enzo.

Three years ago, when she had realized how everyone's lives had just gone on without her, she had eventually walked over to the Mystic Grill again, where Enzo had dropped her off earlier, and walked over to where he had still been sitting, nursing a lonely tumbler of whiskey, staring off into nothing. She'd walked up to him, haltingly, then stopped in front of him.

When he'd looked up, she had expected a smug look on his face, but his expression had been completely shuttered and she had had no clue just what he had been thinking.

"I want to go back to the cabin," she'd announced as she had flopped on a chair opposite him, stealing a sip of his drink.

"Oh? You've been out of 'captivity' a mere few hours and you're already done with freedom and 'fighting the Armory head on?' I guess it didn't go so well…"

She had been annoyed and angry with him. But she had only rolled her eyes and stared at him pointedly.

"So? Can we go back now? And can we get a few more of my things on the way?"

Whatever she had thought of him back then, she had to give it to him that he had started to win her over a long time ago. And maybe that particular day had been the first one where she had actually allowed herself to admit it.

Later, when they had just gotten her stuff packed into the trunk of the car, he gave her a sideways glance and said with an unusually tender tone, "They really don't know what they have in you, Bonnie Bennett."

And while she'd never tell this to anyone else who hadn't been there, his words had made her cry…

* * *

...

Elena felt too comfy, too at home. She had come over to her parents' new house, and it looked eerily like her childhood home. She guessed her mom still had the same style - and why wouldn't she?

She sat on a tall bar stool at her mom's proudest new possession, a kitchen island, and sipped a still hot tea. In front of her stood a plate with a leftover piece of a beautiful strawberry torte.

"This was so good, mom, but I don't think I can eat any more. I'm so stuffed!"

Miranda Gilbert smiled at her daughter. "It's my first time trying out this new recipe. We're having a bake sale for the Founding Families meet-up later this week, so I figured I'd better try it out first."

"They'll love it, mom."

"I'm glad _you_ like it, sweetheart."

"And _I'm_ glad it's a bake sale and not a cook-out," Elena grinned, making her mom shush her. Some things didn't change, the dead might come back, but her mom would never be a good cook.

Elena was happy to see that her mom had adjusted so well to being back after almost ten years. She had basically picked up where she had left off and it all seemed to work out perfectly.

Same for her dad… Who she needed to talk to, still. She had decided today was going to be the day. After talking to Jeremy and knowing he'd not come back anytime soon - if ever - she thought it best to get it over with.

"Do you think dad will be home soon?" She asked her mom and got up to help her clean up.

"I got it, Elena, you go on and sit back down and tell me a bit about you and Damon. - Your dad should really be here any minute now. What was it you wanted to talk to him about?"

"Uh… It's complicated." She was spared a longer answer, when both women heard the door being opened in the hallway.

A minute later, Grayson's face appeared in the doorway and he took a double-take. "Elena, sweetheart! It's good to see you here. You staying for dinner?"

She smiled, pointed to the cake and said, "not after this. Which is probably for the better - at least if mom is cooking."

"Oh come on!" Miranda said exasperatedly, but smiling. "Enough already! Grayson, why don't you and Elena go out to the patio while I'll try and get some sandwiches ready."

The man raised an eyebrow, "Everything okay?"

"Ya!" Elena said it a little too quickly, she could see that her father didn't quite buy it. He gently put a hand on her back and steered her toward the screendoor leading into the backyard.

They both sat down in the comfortable, if worn, whicker chairs and Grayson just looked at her for a moment.

"You want to talk about what I used to do, don't you? You want to know what it means, and what it means that you and the man you love, Damon, used to be vampires." He sighed when she nodded.

"You know we found out about your involvement with the Augustine Society a long time ago…"

"And about our legacy as a family of vampire hunters, yes. It must have been hard for you. I'm sorry, sweetheart."

"Hard?" She cocked her head. She found it hard to read him. She had never ever had trouble with that before. She had always thought he was a simple man - in the best sense of the word. But he really wasn't.

"With you and people that you care about being vampires back then, it must have been horrible to think your own father could have hunted or harmed you, given the chance."

"Would you have done that, though?"

He looked at her, his brow furrowed. "Hunted you? Never."

"Well, your 'friends' at the Society had me locked up for a while, did you know that?" She had him. He looked completely shocked. It was a triumph she could have done without. "They had Damon, too. Tortured him for five years. Of course that was before you were even born…"

"I'm sorry, sweetheart. Did they… did they do anything to you?" He wiped his brow with one wrist. Her confession had clearly unsettled him.

"Dad. You need to help me understand something. Because I really can't. You knew what they did, didn't you? You knew vampires weren't just inanimate things. You knew they weren't soulless beings without feelings. You knew…"

"Yes." He looked her straight in the eyes. "I did."

"Then how could you do what you did? How could you torture innocent people-"

He stood up then, and started pacing. "They were _not_ innocent, Elena. Vampires never are. They are killers. _You_ should _know."_

She pulled her legs up toward her chest and watched him do his rounds. Who _was_ this man?

"So you're not denying the torture."

He shot her a glance. "What do you want me to say here? What do you expect from this conversation?"

"I - I don't know. To understand you? - How could the man I know as a loving, caring dad do something so horrendous? You always put others' well-being over your own!"

"Which is why I did what I did."

She scoffed at his words, but he continued anyway.

"If you found out all that, you must have also seen the files collecting evidence of our successes. Isn't that so?"

"Yes," she admitted, "But how is one person's life worth more than another's? And-"

He interrupted her abruptly. "They were not persons to me."

It was like he had physically hit her. She stared at him. "So you really think when I was a vampire, I was not a person anymore?"

"It's… difficult."

"Is it?!" Elena stood up, too. Her heart was beating so fast. "You masked your… your cruelty, your desire to hurt as scientifically motivated experiments or at best innocent curiosity. - Did you honestly think I'd believe that to be true? Did you even want me to believe you?"

"Elena…"

He came close to her, touched her cheek. He was a tall man, with a handsome face, and despite everything, she still saw the loving father in him.

"The world is gray. Am I proud of everything I did? No. But I did a hell of a lot of good! The Society did amazing things! There's a whole village in Chad that is only alive because some of _our_ doctors were willing to do what we are doing and that's just one example!" He sighed as she pulled away. "It's as they say, if you could save a thousand people if you killed just one, wouldn't you do it? Wouldn't you?"

It was then that something in her shuttered closed. She couldn't really be angry, she couldn't hate him, even if part of her wanted to. But she also couldn't go on seeing him the way she used to. It was as if her father was back in appearance only, but the man that had come back, the man behind the facade, was someone entirely different.

And how did you mourn someone who was technically still there?

She felt a tear escape out of the corner of her eye. "Damon was tortured for five years," she muttered, "His friend Enzo, for seventy. Seventy years, a _lifetime_ of torture. In the name of what?! You can't tell me that making someone scream and bleed and die and come back to life to scream and bleed some more, you can't tell me that that saved _anyone_! You can't even tell yourself that! What you did was for your own pleasure. For yours and that of your cronies, your Society friends. For your _pleasure?!"_

Grayson stared at her, his gaze strangely absent, his face smooth. "Elena…"

She raised a hand to stop him. There was bile at the back of her throat and she was stupidly worried she'd throw up in front of him, so she started running.

She ran through the screendoor, past her concerned mother calling out for her, through the main door and out. Out onto the street and far away.

Only once she had finally reached her car and opened the door with shivering hands, did she get out her cell phone and called the only number that mattered right now.

"Damon?" She could barely say it loud enough for him to hear before the tears washed away her ability to speak.

* * *

...

 _Thank you two again for your kind feedback: Anna and Shadowdancer. You make this so much more fun to publish. :)_

 _Anna, I guess you got your answer concerning Jeremy. But who knows. He might be up to something and we might revisit him._

 _Shadowdancer: yes, I feel like the twins needed an explanation of sorts. There might be a scene with them in the future, maybe we'll see their side of things more. And it was definitely time for some lightheartedness before this chapter, and a Stefan - Damon scene was also long due._


	10. Dreams

...

"Okay, we're done here for today. Thank you all."

Caroline smiled and shook her assistant's hand as she walked out of the studio. Only a few more things to do in her office and she'd be ready to go home. She sighed a sigh of relief when she could finally take off her tightly tailored jacket and felt like she could breathe again.

Until she couldn't. Out of nowhere, something, someone had grabbed her neck and shoved her against the wall of her small office. She was starting to put up a fight, and scratching her opponent's face till she drew blood, when it fully sank in who it was.

"Still as fierce as a wildcat, Caroline Forbes." Klaus let go of her slowly, a smug smile on his face as he nursed his red cheek. She glared at him.

"Klaus!" She spat his name like it was a curse word. "What the hell did you do that for?"

She busied herself with some papers on her desk, pretending she was calm enough to actually pay attention to anything she was doing, but it didn't look like he even cared. He followed her over and sat down at the corner of her desk, watching.

"I'm sorry I wasn't there when you needed me." His soft voice made her pause. She glanced at him. He seemed to be sincere. "I was a little… inconvenienced back then-"

"Oh ya? How so?" she challenged.

But he only smiled and said, "Let's not talk about me, Caroline."

Gosh, she loved it when he said her name like that. And that accent of his. She scrunched up her face without realizing it and berated herself for even thinking about him that way. Why, oh why did Klaus Mikaelson still have such an impact on her? Wasn't it enough that she kind of stood between two men and another woman? Did she really have to add him back into the mix?

Then again, that last one was totally Stefan's fault!

"My old friend Stefan informed me that you could use my services… and of course I was happy to oblige. It's always good to have an excuse to come see you, Caroline. Although I can't say I missed this boring little hometown of yours…"

She glared at him, annoyed - and maybe the tiniest bit turned on? Stop it stop it stop it! She chided herself. This was not good.

"So… would you like me to do what Stefan suggested I do?"

"We can say it, you know? It's called turning someone. He asked you to turn me back into a vampire."

He grinned. He licked his lip suggestively. "And?"

"And what?"

"You know, I don't normally get requests like that. And I wouldn't come for just anyone…"

"I…" Caroline was suddenly shy. She didn't know what to say, or think.

There were the girls she needed to think about. And Stefan, now human. Alaric too… Elena and Bonnie… All these people that needed her and that were so important to her.

Then there was the world outside; her present company. An acute feeling that this wasn't all, yet, not enough.

Klaus had stood up from the table. He was now standing right in front of her, his breath touching her hair. She could feel his body's heat, could see his heart beat under his shirt. A gasp escaped her.

"What is your decision, Caroline?"

* * *

...

After Alaric had picked Josie and Lizzie up, Jo found herself standing in front of her bedroom mirror, zoning out. She had to go work her shift soon, but something kept her rooted to the ground.

This life… it didn't feel like she was meant to live it. At first, being back had been startling, but great. She had gotten a second chance and she had been so relieved, so overwhelmed with joy to learn that her babies had miraculously, magically survived. Their lives as a family of five had been glorious, but short lived.

What had followed after… Nothing could have prepared her for it and nothing could have made it better. It wasn't Caroline's fault, she was great, and the girls loved her, probably a little too much. But Jo wished her gone nevertheless.

She wished her gone so that she and Alaric and the twins could live their happily ever after in peace.

As it was, she felt stretched thin between her job and being a part time mom. Being a mom at all felt so… strange somehow. And she often felt like an afterthought to the story of the girls' lives. Like she didn't _really_ belong.

Earlier, when the two had kept going on and on about how they had played princesses over at their "other mommy's" home, she had started to get such an awkward feeling, like she was going to vanish somehow. It had started in her arms, and had crept slowly up from there. Like a cancer. An ugly feeling.

Now, in front of the big mirror, she shoved her sleeves up, she didn't really know what she expected to see, a rash maybe? Hives, caused by too much stress?

She swallowed hard as she looked at herself. She tried to keep in the sob that wanted to escape.

Something really wasn't right and she didn't know what to do or who to talk to about any of it. Her arms… they were looking the slightest bit translucent.

* * *

...

* * *

 **Unspecified past**

...

The sun shone a little too bright. He closed the blinds, just a bit, with a swift movement of his hand. Then he proceeded over to where his subject lay waiting on the table.

It was a beautiful day. He'd have to attend the Father-Daughter-Dance tonight, but until then, there was still a lot of time, and he was looking forward to an outlet for all his pent up energy.

"How are you today, Enzo?" He said with an air of a casual conversation. "It's beautiful out there. But I guess you've noticed."

He loved this little play. Pretending to be friendly, when it was all clear to both him and his subject that he was only taunting.

The vampire's skin looked charred on the side that had faced the window, and Grayson had taken out a set of tweezers to work on slowly prying off pieces of dead skin.

"Dead skin," he mused, "technically, all your skin should be considered dead, seeing as you're not actually alive in the true sense of the word." Grayson looked into Enzo's shuttered eyes. He sighed. If he was being honest with himself, his work with the vampire had lost a bit of its spark. It was too hard to get a reaction out of him these days, unless they used extreme measures. Then again, Grayson lived for the extreme, didn't he? And only by being willing to go the extra mile did he get the satisfaction out of his job that he so craved.

The subject's ear and left cheek were now picked clear of all burnt flakes. The flesh underneath was shiny and raw, Grayson stared at it for a while, lost in thought. Mesmerized by the beauty of the human body.

"Let me confess something, Enzo. Just between you and me…" He took the tweezers and tore at a stubborn sinew. That did get a reaction out of the subject, an almost scream, not quite. But he would scream. Sooner or later, he would. It was always like that. If not from being torn apart, then by being shocked with electricity, burnt by the sun, or acid, or by being locked up with deadly beasts of some sort, or by the adverse reactions to some of the medications and biological warfare they tested.

Someone had recently started to develop a sort of virus that'd make the vampires feed on themselves rather than humans. But that proved to be a difficult task and so far, the results had not been very promising.

"I'm very grateful that you vampires are part of my life. - I know, I know," he said as if Enzo had said anything, "Shouldn't it be the opposite? After all, we set out to hunt you all down and eradicate you. But," Grayson lifted a finger, "if it weren't for you, I couldn't get this… _urge_ out of my system. With you… it's like a gift from god. He gave me you so that I could hurt someone and kill them over and over and over without turning into a bad man. See, you can't kill humans or you're considered a murderer, evil. _You_ know that… even if you kill bad people, you're still a murderer. But for me, with you… it's a true pleasure to see you suffer. And I want to thank god for that. And you. Thank you, Lorenzo St. John."

He smiled as the vampire stared at him. There was something in his gaze now, Grayson wasn't quite sure what it was, but it pleased him nonetheless. A mixture of repulsion, disgust, and shock, perhaps? He returned to work on the subject's face, then went on to examine the rest of his body. He had an odd _need_ today, a need for blood. He looked at the tray to his right and chose a nice new scalpel.

Elena was so excited about tonight's dance. Her crimson dress had been all the talk for the last few weeks. Every evening after dinner she had been on the phone with one of her friends, Bonnie, or Caroline, and talked about how she was going to get elected queen of the dance, and Matt, of course, would be her king. He chuckled. He couldn't wait for their first dance together, for her beautiful smile to light up as she entered the ballroom.

His girl, she was slowly growing into a woman. And while it was bittersweet, he was so excited to see her explore this amazing world.

The scalpel in his hand had a nice heft to it. Not too flimsy. He adjusted its position on the bare skin of his subject's shoulder, and with a satisfyingly easy and deep incision, he ran the little instrument down the arm, all the way to the palm of the hand. There was a decent amount of blood.

But unfortunately, not the slightest admission of discomfort on the subject's part. Grayson frowned in annoyance.

He needed more.

* * *

...

* * *

 **Now**

...

"Enzo!" Bonnie had called his name multiple times already, trying to wake him up out of what appeared to be a nightmare, but it wasn't working. She was starting to get really really worried. He just wouldn't wake up.

She had come home to him having fallen asleep on the couch after a long work night with Damon at the bar. She had let him sleep there while she went about her studies, every so often shooting a glance in his direction, checking whether he was still sleeping. Then she had returned her attention to the text in front of her.

She had brought home a big book that Alaric had found, _Planes of Existence_ , and had started reading it on the sofa chair next to her boyfriend, hoping for new insights into what might have happened to them all, and what Grams might have alluded to. She still felt that inner sense of doom, and that something bad was going to happen.

After a while, though, she got distracted. Enzo's sleep had become very uneasy. He clenched his jaw, as if he was in pain, and she heard him moan out a few times, and push down on the couch with his hands as if he was… bound.

"Enzo?" She said it gently at first, just a whisper. She repressed the urge to touch him because she was afraid it might only agitate him further. But then he never showed a sign of waking up and she just got too worried about him. "Babe, please wake up. Enzo. Enzo?"

She looked at his troubled face and tears started welling in her eyes. She couldn't help but feel responsible for what he was going through. Of course she had known for a long time about his troubled past, and while he didn't like to talk about it all that much (she didn't blame him), it had never seemed to affect him as much as after he had come back to life as a human.

She gently stroked his hair. "Please, Enzo, please wake up…"

When her fingers lightly touched his cheek, he startled her by suddenly shooting up into a sitting position so fast she could have sworn he still had his vampire traits. He was breathing erratically as he looked at her, taking her in. His eyes were wide, his stare intense.

"Enzo… you're alright. It's me. You're with me." She smiled a small smile, but her face was still scrunched into a worried frown.

He raised a hand to cup her chin as his breaths slowly evened out.

"I'm sorry, love. Did I…" He fell silent. Confusion crossed his features.

"Enzo?" Bonnie had sat down next to him. One leg dangling down, she leaned forward and grabbed his arm. Was that…

They both looked down to see red spread through his left sleeve, all the way from top to bottom. In one long line, the color seeped out and saturated the fabric quickly.

Bonnie's breath caught. "Oh my god!" Panic rose inside of her, as Enzo grimaced in pain.

"Well, this is certainly the most life changing nightmare I've had…" he joked, but it fell horribly flat as he saw his blood drip onto the cushions…

* * *

...

The lake was quiet at this time of day. Quiet and peaceful.

She had left a note for him. She bit the inside of her cheeks as she thought about it. He might hate her for this. For the stupid note. Tears ran down her face. She didn't want him to hate her, but this was just too much for her. The constant nightmares of hell, and everything that had gone wrong in her life. It was just too much.

People always wished for second chances. And third and fourth chances. They could never give up on life. She had been like that. She had bargained for another chance. But now that her wish had been granted, she hated every minute of it.

Gosh, she had tried. Had pretended. Hung out with the girls. Traveled to see Jeremy. All she remembered from that trip was the shock and pain in his face. Like he had finally been done mourning and had moved on, and then she brought back some of the buried feelings and all the hurt had suddenly been back in his life, rather than the joy.

No. She felt like a burden, like a mere shadow walking in the sunlight, slowly being obliterated. This was not her place anymore. This was only pain. _This_ was hell.

With a last long inhalation she slowly walked into the water, it was cold around her bare ankles. She walked in deeper and deeper, until she could wave her arms through the cold, until her mouth touched the waterline. Then her nose.

The first breath was hard. She had to overcome her fear, her body's urge to struggle upward.

Then the water started filling her lungs. A strange feeling. A horrible feeling. She needed to get up. Up!

She needed to let go…

It was already too late when she changed her mind yet again. "Matt," she thought, "Oh why?"

* * *

...

They were laying in bed together, Damon after a long night spent with Enzo at the bar, Elena after a night shift working at the hospital. Cuddled up in a heap under the warm sheets and covers, her leg over his, his arm around her shoulders, they slept. Naked, blissfully so. The touch of skin on skin all the comfort they needed.

Elena was in a dreamless sleep, too exhausted from work, but Damon lay next to her, dreaming of their perfect day. She was wearing a long white dress, as stunningly beautiful as he could have ever hoped for. And she looked so happy. He smiled at her.

"Hello, gorgeous," he said as he took her hand in his for the dance. Their dance.

A piano started playing. A guitar. Enzo's voice, then Bonnie's. Their gift for the newlyweds, a song…

Damon couldn't stop smiling.

He saw his brother and Caroline sitting at a table nearby, their noses almost touching as they smiled at each other. Caroline was clinging to Stefan's arm. They were exchanging a moment of their own.

Ric was there, busy keeping the kids entertained.

But most importantly, Elena was there, leaning forward now, whispering in his ear, "I love you, Mr. Salvatore."

"And I love you, Mrs. Salvatore."

She threw her head back, her wavy hair sparkling with little pearls, and laughed as he pulled her closer against him, then away again, her dress floating.

As he pulled her to his chest again, smiling, enjoying this wonderful moment with her, his _wife_ , his eyes caught a drop of red on her dress. His expression darkened a little. Red, to him, still only meant one thing.

Blood.

And while he still puzzled over where it could have come from, he saw Elena's body grow limp, and the stain on her dress widen and widen and widen.

He opened his mouth in a scream that wouldn't come, his face an expression of utter agony. No, he thought, no no no no no. He caught her in his arms, her eyes locked on his. "Damon?" She whispered, his name a question. "What's happening?"

But he never got to find out. Her eyes started fluttering shut, and his heart felt like it was being squeezed too hard, he was going to die right there with her. And it was probably for the better, for a life without her was no life…

...

He woke up with a start, panting. Hurriedly, he felt for Elena right next to him, saw her face, peacefully asleep. He should have felt better immediately. It was just a stupid dream after all.

Why then did his heart still feel like he was dying? "Elena?" He wheezed out. This was not happening. Was he having a friggin' heart attack?

"Elena. A little help?"

Her eyelids flickered open finally. It took her a minute to find her bearings, but as soon as she saw him, she was wide awake, and his pained expression, the way he clutched his chest, sent her into panic mode. "Damon? Oh my gosh…"

* * *

 _..._

 _Thank you all for the reviews again._

 _"Guest": yes! Bonnie and Enzo are the reason I'm writing this. I haven't really dabbled in fan fic for a while. Then I finally caught up with TVD just a couple weeks ago, and here I am. :)_

 _Anna: yes, poor Elena. Dealing with her father's "legacy" won't be easy for her._

 _Shadowdancer: you're very right about Grayson. He's a bad man with a tinge of good,_ _at best. Not the other way around. And so true about his victims, too._


	11. Hospital Song

...

Stefan came running down the hospital hallway, after a quick inquiry at the admissions desk. His shirt was still full of grease stains, his fingernails dirty. A rag was stuck haphazardly into his back pocket, almost falling out.

He was a man on a mission, and that mission was to be there for his brother, to make sure he was okay.

Stefan stopped in his tracks as he finally reached his destination. Elena stood in the hallway, arms folded in front of her, and listened to a doctor in scrubs, while she kept her eyes trained on the open door to what must have been Damon's room.

"Elena," he said, quiet and out of breath. As she heard him, she looked up, straight at him, and he witnessed her composure crumple.

The doctor laid a hand on her shoulder, a quick brief gesture of comfort, then he nodded to Stefan, "You're the brother?"

He had reached the two of them by then and was standing right next to Elena, grimacing, "Ya, Stefan Salvatore. Is my brother…"

"Dr. Washington," the doctor introduced himself curtly, "Your brother had a myocardial infarction, Mr. Salvatore. - Yes, a heart attack. He is stable now. Thanks to Ms. Gilbert's quick reaction we could take care of him within the recommended time window and were able to reestablish proper blood flow to the heart. We will, however, need to monitor him closely. Your brother is a young man, and not at all in any risk group for an infarction like that. Therefore we need to try and rule out any underlying conditions…"

The man went on to explain a few more things, but Stefan caught himself zoning out. Damon had had a heart attack. But he was stable. The younger Salvatore needed a moment to digest the news.

When they had thanked the doctor and were finally alone, Stefan gave Elena the big hug he had wanted to give her all along. She clung to him, like he clung to her. It was a moment of rare intimacy between the two. Neither of them could imagine a life without Damon Salvatore in it, and they both had had a horrible scare.

When she had called him, he hadn't even waited for her to finish explaining. He had stopped what he was doing, hopped into his car and driven over as fast as he could.

Elena eventually let go of him and they exchanged a glance. "He's sleeping now - the medication… but you can go in, if you'd like…" Her voice died. She still sniffled a bit, but all he had was his disgusting rag. He pulled it out and showed it to her. "Um, if you need it, it's yours."

He got a laugh out of her. It made both of them feel better.

"Have you been inside?" He wanted to know and she nodded.

"I'll give you two some time, if you want," she whispered.

He shook his head. "Come on in with me, Elena. We are all family now. He'll want you there."

"And you." She smiled.

"Or none of us. He hates witnesses to any sign of his 'weakness.'" They both laughed a little at the thought, but it didn't last. The worry sat too deep in their bones still.

Stefan walked in after ushering her in first. Damon looked pale and exhausted on the hospital sheets, and the beeping monitor recording his heart beat filled the room with a steady stream of noise. It got to the younger brother almost immediately.

Elena had already grabbed a chair and was sitting next to the bed, holding Damon's hand, when Stefan approached his brother as well. In a gesture of rare tenderness, he ran a hand across his brother's sunken cheek, then sat down as well, burying his face in his hands for a moment, until Elena asked him, "Are you okay?"

"I'm just worried. I guess I'm not used to 'normal human life'," he used air quotation marks, "to be so dangerous. This really caught me off guard. I'm… I'm really glad you were there for him, Elena. Without you… Thank you."

He looked at her with his earnest, sincere face, an expression Elena had seen him wear so often that it was surprising how much it got to her now. She could tell how shaken he was, and how much he loved his brother. He had grabbed Damon's other hand by now and was sitting there, holding it, mumbling almost inaudibly, "Rest now, brother. I need you around for a little while longer, okay?"

She had always known how deep the brothers' love for each other was, but seeing it displayed in front of her again right there was the sweetest thing she had seen in a while. She smiled briefly before the worry returned.

"I just don't know how this could happen, Stefan. I mean, it's not like he isn't fit or… well, he should adjust his diet a little to human life, but… other than that, this just came out of the blue."

His eyebrows gave away his concern. "I know…"

"At first, when it happened, he said something about a dream coming true. A good dream turned bad or something. I was super confused, but then he said he'd dreamed about our wedding day," she smiled a small smile at the thought, but sobered quickly, "but then something bad happened in the dream and his heart… he said it felt like it happened in the dream first and then in real life."

"It was probably just his subconscious making sense of the heart attack, Elena. You know, like when an alarm goes off and your subconscious incorporates the sound into your current dream, where it can be anything from the beeping of a microwave, to the sound of the apocalypse, or just a plain dream version of that very same clock?"

He was always good at making sense out of everything. He was the level headed brother, the one that thought first and then acted, the opposite of Damon. Elena valued him for that. She was just about to say something to him, when she noticed Bonnie through the window to the hallway.

"Bonnie?" she said out loud, alerting Stefan to her presence. "Did you tell her what happened?" she then addressed him, "Is that why she's here?"

Her best friend looked very distraught. And while Elena knew that she and Damon were close, she seemed a bit too distraught for it to be about Damon alone.

"No, I didn't…" Stefan looked worried.

"Elena?" Bonnie poked her head in from outside. "What the hell is Damon doing here?"

"He's… he had a heart attack." Elena, who had gotten up to hug her friend, waited for Bonnie's obvious shock at the news to subside a little before explaining further.

The two were still holding each other's hands when Elena eventually asked the inevitable question, "But… why are you here if not for him?"

Bonnie had been crying, even before hearing about Damon. Elena had noticed her red rimmed eyes, and she was afraid to hear what might have happened.

"I am here with Enzo." Bonnie sounded so defeated that, for a second, Elena feared the worst.

"Oh Bonnie!"

"He's fine. Well. Not fine, but he'll live and… Elena, I think I may have caused all of this. First Enzo, now him." She pointed to Damon, who was still laying obliviously sleeping on the bed. "All of this is my fault. That… that _blast_ , my magic; I think it is starting to destroy everything."

"Hold on. What?" Stefan's interest was piqued. "What happened with Enzo, Bonnie? And how could the blast have anything to do with Damon?"

"I.. I don't really know." Her voice was small, and shaking. "Enzo had a dream, too, another _bad_ dream."

"Another?" Elena interrupted, but Bonnie merely grimaced at her.

"Yeah, another. This time, though, when he woke up… some of the things that had been done to him, they had been done to him in reality as well. There was a huge gash in his arm. - We were just in the ER for friggin' ever, and now they said they want to keep him overnight. Due to the blood loss and…"

"You're saying he had a dream right before this happened? Just like Damon?" Elena looked at her, then at Stefan, completely lost.

"Bonnie," Stefan whispered, "what the hell is going on?"

He came a little too close for comfort and Bonnie backed away.

"I told you I don't know. Stefan-"

Just then she bumped into someone appearing in the doorway behind her, and her eyes widened when she saw who it was.

"Enzo! But…"

He half raised his thickly bandaged arm, before he looked past her to Stefan, his chin raised, his whole stance that of someone protecting what he loved, of challenging whoever threatened that.

"Back off, Stefan. This is not her fault," he gritted out, acutely aware of Bonnie's touch against his body.

Stefan raised both hands in a show of surrender. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to scare you, Bonnie. I was only-"

But Bonnie didn't even pay attention to him any more. Instead, she pointed an accusing finger at Enzo. "How are you here?" She sounded annoyed.

Enzo, and the other two with him, were slightly taken aback.

"How are you here and not in a hospital bed getting those IVs you're supposed to be getting?!" She sounded like an angry mom to her own ears now, and she took a deep breath and tried again. "I'm sorry babe, I'm just… they said they wanted to keep you here and now you're running around the hallway? You didn't go against medical advice, did you?"

Enzo's lips curled into a small smile. "You're worried about me, love… I'm fine, though. Yes, I did do the AMA thing, but it's really no big deal. They patched me up, I'm as good as new. - So, where were we?"

She wouldn't let him off the hook that quickly, though.

"I _am_ worried," she said, "and I have every right to be! You almost bled out on our stupid couch and now here you are, not listening to anything the doctors said."

"Bonnie." Suddenly, he sounded very serious. Gently, he took her face in his hands and turned it toward his. His voice was no more than a whisper when he told her, "It was hard enough the last time, love, but I accepted that it was necessary then," he tapped his chest, barely healed, as if to remind her what he was talking about. "But I cannot stay here again, trusting doctors I have no inclination to trust. I can't. Besides, I'd rather spend my time with you - and I'm fine." He drew out the last word, his gaze on her intense.

Bonnie wasn't happy about his choice, but she couldn't be upset with him either. She understood. She wanted to tell him she'd stay right by his side, she'd watch over him, she'd not let anything happen to him. But she knew the problem lay elsewhere, so she simply mouthed an okay, then turned back to their friends, allowing him to see inside the room.

Enzo frowned in concern when he finally realized what the gathering was all about. "What's up with Damon?" He took a few steps toward the lying man. They were both at least equally ashen, so his concern seemed almost comical.

"We were just talking about the two of you," Stefan explained. "How you both had rather lifelike dreams. In your case," he pointed to Enzo's arm, "a torture wound appeared on your arm, in his," he nodded over to his brother, "he suffered a heart attack in his dream that transferred over to reality. And Bonnie here thinks that it all might have to do with her psychic blast that brought _you_ back from the dead."

"Can somebody please tell me why you guys are standing over there and nobody is paying any attention to this poor suffering mortal over here?" Damon suddenly rasped out, interrupting them all, and suddenly everyone's focus shifted to him.

Elena was the first to rush over to him, and she was extra careful when she gently leaned in to kiss him.

"You scared me," she muttered.

He laid his arm around her as best as he could with all the stupid cords and monitors attached to him. "Aw, even my beloved brother is here. And Bon Bon. And… wow, Lorenzo, my man, you look like shit. No sugar coating that."

"I can return that compliment." Enzo faked a tip of the hat and they both grinned.

Damon noticed how relieved everyone seemed to be to see him up. He had to admit that he bathed a little bit in their obvious concern. But after a minute or two, he already had enough. They had filled him in on their latest 'findings,' and he exchanged a look with poor Bonnie. She seemed ready to start crying.

"Bonnie, you have an amazing talent of getting yourself stuck in a difficult situation," he said in an attempt to lighten the mood, but he should have chosen a different approach. She glared at him. Elena dug a finger into his shoulder. And Stefan did what he did best and looked all righteous and told his brother to shut up.

Damon rolled his eyes.

"Okay," he said, trying to sit up, "how do I get out of here the quickest?"

"Uh, Damon, you're not going anywhere," Stefan deadpanned, but his brother didn't give up so easily.

"Well, somebody's gonna have to sort this mess out before we all drop dead, and we all know that you guys don't have the stamina nor cunning to get it done without me." He smirked, but he was already getting ridiculously tired again so he didn't fool anyone. Stefan rolled his eyes at him, but his older brother suspected that it was only a show for his sake.

"Brother, you stay here and get your heart back in shape first. Let us deal with the rest and when you're better, you're welcome to join us."

But Damon didn't even hear the rest anymore as he had already fallen back asleep. Stupid human ailments...

* * *

...

Matt wasn't sure he'd heard the woman correctly. He had just gotten home from work, he was still in his uniform, because the doorbell had pretty much rung the minute he'd stepped foot in the old Lockwood mansion.

"Tyler, can you get that?" he'd called out but had noticed right away that his friend didn't answer. He was probably out again. He was always out lately, just like Vickie, leaving Matt to worry about them a little. But this?

"You're sure it's Vickie?" His voice came out hoarse and shaky. Deep furrows appeared on his forehead as he tried to make sense of this.

The woman - Officer Chenoweth? - nodded gravely. "I'm so sorry Sergeant Donovan. There's no mistaking it's her."

"But…" His brain didn't want to function. After everything? After everything she'd gone through - and he'd gone through - Vickie had drowned herself in Mystic Lake? Drowned?!

"I'd like to give you the note she left, Sir, but unfortunately, it's still in forensics. Just to make sure..."

"Is there any chance this was a crime, or or or, an accident?" He was fishing for straws here, he knew it, but he had to.

The police officer destroyed the last sliver of hope by shaking her head, "I'm so sorry."

Matt could only stand there. How cruel was this world that it had given him back his sister only to take her from him again? And how cruel had it been to her?

His heart broke for real in that moment and he wasn't sure he'd be able to pick up the pieces _again._

 _..._

Later, when Tyler finally got home, and it had been dark for hours, Matt Donovan was still in his uniform, sitting on the stairs to the first floor, where he had sat down as soon as the Officer had left him earlier.

"Can I call anyone for you?" She had asked, sympathetically, but he had shaken his head, assured her he was okay, and then…

"Matt?" Tyler had kneeled down in front of him - when did that happen? - a look of real worry on his features. "Matt, geez, come on, what's going on? What happened? Please, man, talk to me?"

"You're not going to kill yourself, Ty, are you?" Matt sounded so weary.

"What?! Matt… Is… did someone…?"

"It's Vickie," Matt choked out, and finally the tears came. "She's gone."

All Tyler could do was hold his friend as uncontrollable sobs started shaking Matt's body. There were no words.

* * *

...

Alaric was deep in a book on matters of the oversoul and multiple worlds and didn't notice it at first when someone else entered the Armory.

It was always so quiet in there, a good place for his studies. It didn't hurt that they had such a great library and an arsenal of exciting artifacts and weapons of unknown origins.

To him, the place was like a playground; a fairground for adult professors of history and the occult.

"Alaric?"

He visibly started as he heard her. Looking up from the book in his hands, he saw her standing there, in the middle of the big foyer, cradling her arms.

"Jo! I thought your shift has long started?"

"I called in sick."

He frowned at her, suddenly worried. In this moment, he was reminded that there was still love for her in him. He put the book away and came over to where she was standing, rooted to the spot.

"What's going on?"

She had cried, he could tell. Gently, he tapped her chin, encouraging her to look at him.

"Anything I can do?"

Without explanation, she rolled back her sleeves, and showed him her arms. He examined them, turning them around in his hands, then looked at her again, a little lost.

Her expression changed.

"You can see it, right?"

He shrugged, helpless.

"What am I looking at here, Jo?"

"I'm friggin' vanishing!" she yelled, very upset, "can't you see?!"

But he really couldn't. Her arms looked perfectly fine. He tightened his grip on her, suddenly incredibly worried.

"Jo…"

"Oh my gosh, you _can't_ see it. I must be delusional. I'm losing my goddamn mind! I'm…" she started crying again, "why did I have to be brought back?!" She cried, agonized, and dug her fists into Ric's shirt. "I just want this to be over. Please, Alaric. I want this over… you and Caroline… take care of the girls. They don't need me here. They need a mother that is…"

"Jo, slow down. We will figure this out. It's alright. Maybe it's just the stress catching up with you. You've been through a lot, you…"

She smiled, anguished. "I don't think I was meant to come back…"

And with that, she abruptly let go of him and ran away.

"Jo!" Ric called out, setting out to follow her, but his reflexes only started working a minute too late. "Jo!"

She was already out the door, in her car. She started the engine just as he got to her. He was too late. Like so often in his life, he was a little too late.

And he had no idea what to do.

* * *

...

Caroline had busied herself in the kitchen, cleaning up while the girls painted their salt dough shapes. They had told her to make them an Elsa and an Anna, and Olaf was there, too. Though Caroline doubted anyone else would be as enthusiastic about the misshapen little things that barely even remotely resembled anything.

She smiled, allowing herself to just watch her girls for a little.

Earlier, Alaric had called, saying something about Jo and to let him know if she showed up. Apparently, she wasn't feeling quite herself. Admittedly, Caroline had been a little distracted when he'd called. She was still thinking about her encounter with Klaus. She had wanted to tell Alaric about it. Stefan, too. But Alaric had hung up too quickly and Stefan… hadn't answered any of her many calls and texts yet. She was worried.. Something was going on, and she had no clue what.

She didn't like that feeling. So making salt dough with the twins had felt like a good distraction for all of them. She was just about done putting the last bowl away, and the ingredients they had used earlier, when she heard Josie quietly ask her sister, "Do you think we'll see them again?"

Lizzie shrugged. "I don't know. Maybe."

"I liked the pretty one," Josie announced, her face beaming. "She must be a princess."

"She looks just like mommy's friend!" Lizzie said.

"But the other one was too scary…"

"Ya."

Caroline stopped what she was doing, concern flashing in her eyes. "What?" She went over to the table and sat down between the two, gently touching the crowns of their heads. "Who were you guys talking about? Who is scary?"

Both girls looked at her intently, suddenly shy. It was Lizzie who opened her mouth, whispering, "He said not to tell anyone…"

"Sweetie, you can always tell mommy or daddy, or mommy Jo about everything. Don't _ever_ let anyone tell you otherwise."

"But…" Josie looked worried now, and Caroline gently took her hand in hers.

"Really, sweetie. We are all here to protect you."

"Not mommy Jo, though," Lizzie piped up, looking sad. "He told us she can't stay."

Now Caroline was truly alarmed. "Who is this guy?" She demanded to know, trying to keep her sudden anger in check. After all, she didn't want to scare her daughters.

"Arcadius," Josie hushed, and Lizzie added, "But he said we can call him Cade…"

Caroline's hand flew to her mouth. She felt like she was going to be sick. No… quickly, she scooped the girls up. Without so much as a proper explanation - "We're gonna surprise daddy at work!" was all she managed - they all ran out of the house and to her car. With shaking hands she started the car and revved the engine.

* * *

...

When they were finally home, they tumbled inside like drunken lovers. Bonnie was doing her best to help Enzo carry his own weight, before they both flopped down on the couch. He looked like death, pale and exhausted, his eyes hollow, his cheeks sunken. But he was still smiling.

"My apology, love. - Again," he added, "I'm starting to get annoyed with this arrangement where you have to constantly bust my ass out of danger and save me.

She wanted to tell him that he should have stayed at the hospital then, but she bit her lip and kept the thought to herself. She knew why he was so opposed to it. She couldn't blame him.

"I know what you're thinking," he muttered, as her head came to rest on his chest and he put his good arm around her.

"Oh ya?" She yawned. It had been a long day. A tough day. And she was so very tired. She snuggled up against him, careful not to touch his injuries.

"You wanted me to stay there…"

"I… I'm just worried about you, babe. You're not a vampire anymore. And I can't afford to lose you."

"You won't." He held her close, her breathing evened out.

"I just want you to be happy. And I wish I could somehow eradicate that past of yours. Stop the… pain. The memories." She looked up to him, saw him smile a pained smile at her.

"Bonnie. None of this is your fault. I hope you know that. I've lived with this a long time. I'm certainly not gonna give up now. Not when I finally found my love, my peace, with you."

She tried to smile, but her body wasn't cooperating anymore. "So tired…" she mumbled. She had wanted to stay up, to watch over him while he got some much needed rest. She had wanted to make sure he allowed himself to sleep without fearing something worse would happen.

And then _she_ fell asleep on him.

He smiled. "I love you, Bonnie Bennett," he breathed into her hair, holding her close while she slept. "For once, let me take care of you…"

* * *

 _..._

 _Thanks, guys, for the feedback. And thanks to those who are following and favoriting. :)_

 _Anna, you were spot on about Vickie, and Shadowdancer, we will definitely be visiting Miranda soon, so there'll be more insight there._


	12. Undertow

...

It was still dark outside when Bonnie awoke from a deep, if troubled, sleep. When she saw that Enzo's eyes were shut, his breathing even, she gently untangled herself from him to get a blanket. She walked as if through molasses, like in a dream. Something didn't seem quite right. _Was_ she perhaps actually dreaming?

"Bonnie."

She'd know that voice anywhere. But she couldn't see…

"Bonnie."

It was as if a fog lifted and then she was there: Grams. This, then, was not a dream, but the psychic plane she had visited before.

"Grams, what are we doing here?"

"Bonnie, I won't be able to stay long. This plane is starting to disintegrate. Your spell, the magic you sent out in that blast, is coming undone. Your adversary, Arcadius, he's starting to seep power from what you created. If you don't stop him, this all will come to end."

"How do I do that? How do I stop him?" Bonnie was shocked. She felt desperate. So Cade was still there, and he was growing stronger. While she still hadn't even figured out what exactly her blast had done.

"Oh, child. I wish I knew. Just know that-"

There was a loud screeching sound, so loud that it made Bonnie scream out in pain.

The next thing she knew was that she was laying on the floor, a worried looking Enzo kneeling over her, cradling her in his arms.

"Bonnie. Bonnie!"

She frowned. For how long had he been calling her name?

"Enzo?" His name came out as a question. She tried to sit up, but her head was pounding like crazy and he gently hindered her from getting up.

"Take it easy, love."

She was ready to cry. What the hell just happened? What had that horrible noise been?

She saw his face fall when he saw her tears. "What is it, love? Come on, let's get you up…"

Gently he put both arms around her and slowly pulled her into a standing position. She was dead weight, her legs wobbly, her head dizzy. "I'm so sorry," she said, still crying, "your arm… you're gonna hurt your arm more!" She started crying harder.

"Bonnie," his voice was so soothing, so calm, "It's alright. You're going to be alright. Whatever it is, we will figure it out. Together." Enzo was worried about her, _for_ her. He hadn't seen her this vulnerable in a long time. And while in theory, he loved the idea of playing the knight in shining armor for once, helping the damsel in distress, it wasn't so great when the damsel was the woman he loved more than anything.

He had nearly freakin' lost his mind when he saw her become lifeless like a rag doll and start bleeding from her nose and ears. For a moment then he had believed he'd lost her. No torture, nothing else had ever been that terrifying and unbearable.

Now she gazed at him, and he wanted to hug her so close that their bodies would become one. Just her skin against his almost didn't seem enough. Instead, he made sure he was extra careful with her. He had no idea what was wrong with her and he didn't want to aggravate her any further. He should probably get her to go get checked at the doctor's, if not the hospital. Of course she would only put up the same fight he had…

Bonnie was so overwhelmingly grateful that she didn't have to go through this all alone, that she had him. That he was holding her now and she didn't have to be strong for once. At the same time she was so very terrified. She had so much to lose. Everything.

She couldn't let that happen.

* * *

...

* * *

[ _Three years ago..._ ]

...

"So, how is this gonna work?" Bonnie huffed, strutting about around Enzo, looking into all the cabinets, checking behind all doors, even examining the toilet bowl. An involuntary appreciative expression appeared on her face. He smirked.

"It's… very clean," she admitted, but quickly remembered that she was angry and annoyed with him. "Are you gonna lock me up here, with these stupid pills and no magic and nothing to occupy me but this stupid guitar?!" She pointed as she was pacing in front of him. "Because this is going to get real old, real soon."

"You're not my prisoner, Bonnie."

"Right…" she rolled her eyes at him. "And what else would you call this?"

He sighed. Not this again. He decided to toss her the bag of fast food he'd grabbed on the way and leave her alone for a bit. He had other matters to attend to, and he couldn't deal with her annoying bickering anymore. "The door is open if you want to leave."

"Hey!" He heard her call out as she barely caught the bag. He turned on his heels with a wave of the hand. "Bon Appetit, Ms. Bennett."

With that he was gone and Bonnie let out a slightly suppressed scream. That stupid vampire-son-of-a-bitch!

…

The next day, when she woke up after having fallen asleep waiting for him on the couch, he was sitting across from her, watching.

"Creep," she scolded him. She expected another smirk, an off-hand comment. But he looked almost… hurt?

There was a cup of tea waiting for her and some buttered toast. Nothing fancy, but it was breakfast, and she was hungry. She took the bread and started eating. She noticed a backpack sitting by the door. Between bites, she asked, "Are you going on a hike or something?"

" _We_ are," was his curt answer.

She coughed. "Okay?"

...

"Okay" was also what she said hours later, when the snow had surprised them on that hike that she couldn't believe she had agreed to. They were in the middle of friggin' nowhere. She was cold, hungry, and her feet felt raw from the slightly too big hiking boots Enzo had provided her.

"I need a break!" She announced and to her utter dismay, she started crying; right in front of him.

For a moment he just stared at her. His expression looked kind of stricken, maybe shocked.

"I thought you wanted to go out and not be 'stuck' inside. I wanted to show you that you are free," he quietly explained as he walked back through the snow toward her. "I would _never_ lock you up, Bonnie. It's part of the reason I'm doing all this. So that you don't end up locked away." He gritted the last words out between clenched teeth.

"You think I'm upset about that right now?" Ugh, that vampire! He looked so flustered and forlorn. She almost felt pity for him. "I'm upset because I'm hungry, and it's cold! And my feet hurt so bad I don't think I can walk another mile, or even another step! I just want to go back to the stupid cabin already!"

She stood there, her face a crying mess, probably with mascara smudges everywhere, when he towered over her, contemplating. Then he moved to take off her backpack, made her sit down, took off her boots and socks to examine her feet. Her heels were rubbed raw and she saw him make a face as she grimaced in pain.

He was kneeling in front of her, tending to her broken skin with gentle hands while she watched. When he looked up next, she felt a strange prickle at the back of her thighs and calves, but she forced herself to ignore it.

He moved to prick his wrist with his canines, but she grabbed his arm before he did.

"I'm not going to drink your blood," she announced, unsure why Shen felt so adamant about that. Maybe she didn't want to give him the satisfaction of having done something selfless for her. Maybe she wanted to keep up the image she had of him.

She caught him roll his eyes, but he didn't say anything. Instead, he quickly put her socks and boots back on, then hoisted her up unceremoniously so she could piggyback. She felt a little ridiculous, but she was not above accepting this kind of help.

The way back took them quite a long time, at least a few more hours, and he carried her the whole damn way in silence.

...

The next morning, when she woke up in the nice comfortable bed, there was no tea. No breakfast. Enzo was still fast asleep on the couch. He hadn't even taken his shoes off, or his jacket. She sighed, then went to find a blanket that she could put over him. He didn't stir when she did, and when found herself staring down at him for a little while. The corners of her mouth moved into an involuntary half smile. He was kinda cute when he slept...

She shook her head at herself.

'What am I even doing here?' she wondered to herself. 'Why am I trusting _him_ of all people?"

She had no answer to her questions. And with nothing else to do and her feet still sore, she hobbled over into the little kitchen and decided to make some breakfast for them. For the first time since getting there, she wondered whether he had a stash of blood bags hiding in the freezer or something.

Living with a vampire should be interesting...

* * *

...

* * *

...

"I love you too, sweetie! Tell Damon you two should come over for dinner sometime!"

Miranda had given her daughter a quick peck on the cheek, then let her get on her way. She must be so relieved about the news of her boyfriend's discharge from the hospital the very next day. What a scare the whole ordeal must have been to them. Damon was so young still. The young shouldn't have heart attacks. Well, technically he was older than she was, Miranda realized. She shook her head at the baffling thought. Part of her had never gotten used to vampires being real.

She followed Elena with her eyes until she hopped into her car and drove off, vanishing after the first turn of the road.

Once Miranda was back inside, she went about her tasks, cleaned up a little clutter here and there, then sat down at the computer, starting the layout for the invitation to the next Founding Families event.

She stared at the screen for a long time, unable to come up with anything. Elena's strange questions still rang in her head, and she tried to make sense of them.

Elena wanted her to come to some type of gathering tomorrow at the Salvatore's house. "Not exactly," she had answered when Miranda had asked her whether it was to welcome her boyfriend back.

"Did you know about dad's… other activities? When he wasn't at work?" She had wanted to know at some point. As plain as that. "Other activities." Miranda had almost spilled her drink.

The vampire hunting… she'd felt guilt creep up inside of her. She hadn't been strong enough to deny anything, so she had told Elena the truth. That, yes, she did know about it. She'd known about it for a long time. If you're a founding member, you couldn't _not_ know about it.

Had she liked what her husband was doing? Not particularly, no. Of course not. But it was like that with any type of hunt. It was necessary, or else the vampire population would get out of hand and decimate the humans.

Now that she knew about Elena's history, and Damon, it was harder for her to explain it away. It felt wrong to her now. She'd never before realized that there were different "types" of them. That not all vampires were monsters.

She shivered involuntarily. She could only hope that Grayson hadn't really known that, either. Although, if she was completely honest with herself - and she really really tried not to be, she doubted he hadn't at least once noticed that one of the presumed monsters he killed was just a victim of its own nature.

Elena had asked her a few more questions. Prying. For what, Miranda had no idea. It had almost sounded as if that wasn't all she'd meant with Grayson's "other activities."

"Elena..." She had at one point taken her daughter's hands in hers, "please tell me the truth. Did he… have an affair? Is that what you're trying to tell me?"

"What?" She had asked, baffled, then laughed her beautiful clear laugh. "Oh mom. No! I'm sorry, no. It's… nothing like that. It's really all good."

Yet Miranda couldn't quite shake the feeling that Elena hadn't told her everything.

Then there was Elena's weird request to not bring Grayson over to the meeting. She'd said it was because of the presence of a few former vampires that didn't feel comfortable in the company of a hunter. Miranda figured it was probably the tall dark man that had tried to attack her husband the very same day they'd returned from wherever they had been.

...

But when Grayson came home later that evening, she slipped up when she mentioned she'd have to go over to the Salvatore's house because she had promised Elena she'd be there.

They were sitting together at the dinner table, talking about their respective days and their plans for the next, when she brought it up. She felt her face flush when she noticed what she'd done, but he seemed quite unaware.

"Oh? What for?"

"Nothing special, honey, just a welcome home party for Damon, I presume? I said I'd bring over some cupcakes."

Grayson raised an eyebrow. "Damon didn't strike me as the kind of guy that cared much for welcome home parties, or cupcakes."

"Well," Miranda began, busying herself with her cutlery. She didn't like feeling like she'd done something wrong, but for some reason that was exactly what she felt like right then. "He may not be, but maybe his friends and family."

"When did you say you'd have to be there? At five?" Grayson asked between bites. She nodded.

I'll be back before you know it. And I'll bring dinner." She smiled at him.

"Actually, I could make some time tomorrow. I'll see whether I can make it there by five. And afterward, I'll take _you_ out to dinner."

They smiled at each other. Miranda's heart fluttered, the weird guilty feeling gone. How she loved that man. He always made time for the important things, for his family. She couldn't wait to go out to dinner with him. A real date night.

Elena surely wouldn't actually mind her dad showing up, would she? Maybe if Miranda made sure he'd stay out of that one dark man's way... She smiled to herself.

Yet somewhere deep within her, a nagging feeling of uneasiness remained.

* * *

...

* * *

...

When she'd first been sucked into the darkness, she had been so annoyed. So angry! She had been on her way to some type of redemption after all, and then - _bam_ , it had all been for naught. There was Nadia to think about. Nadia, who had also died, yet who she couldn't seem to find in this god forsaken afterlife.

Stefan. Damon…

She had been so angry.

But then the darkness had opened into something else. All _wasn't_ over. It was just… different. At first, she had suffered. Pain, angst, panic, the horrors of her life had all been back to haunt her, hunt her down. But when she had thought she was ready to finally give up and break, her anger had been back; to save her.

She'd thought how unfair it was that she was here, in this hellhole, to rot and suffer, while her stupid doppelgänger and the two obnoxious love struck Salvatore brothers, her former lovers, or whatever she should call them, were still out there in the real world, living the good life.

Apparently, he had sensed her potential: Arcadius, who, apparently, was the devil. Or rather, that's what he liked others to believe. She scoffed.

It had been so easy. Once he'd walked up to her, in her despair, in her random corner of hell - which at that moment had been the goddamn church she'd once been locked up in to burn - he'd taken an interest in her. And from then on, it had been child's play.

Katherine Pierce, or Katerina Petrova, was no novice in the art of seduction. And she was good. At first, Arcadius had still believed _he_ was the one in power. While she had started to play with him, attend to his more primal needs, she had started to run her own business, right under his nose. She had begun to get people to work for _her_. She had been ready to complete the last part of her plan, where she would trick him into letting her go, when something had shaken their little piece of paradise among the horror, and their plane of existence had started to crumble and vanish.

She had been so upset. All this, all this work, the suffering, the seduction, for nothing?

But she had forgotten that Arcadius was her lover now, and, more importantly, that once he had been a very powerful psychic - and still was...

So when that blast started to tear their world apart, he had swept her up and used his own powers to get them from their breaking shifting world into the one that was being created around them.

It was going to be their world.

And how pleasantly surprised she had been when she had learned that it was none other than stupid little Bonnie Bennett who had created that world. Through her, Katherine would get to the others as well.

She'd just have to get rid of boring old Arcadius along the way. For now, though, she could still use his magic for her own plans.

* * *

...

* * *

...

It had been a week since the news about Cade and his companion had transpired. His companion that _had_ to be Katherine, going by what the twins had told them.

Damon was finally allowed to leave the hospital, under strict orders to not overexert himself and with shiny new diet restrictions that he hated. He'd been in a grumpy mood when Elena picked him up, but that changed as soon as he saw her.

"Can't wait to share my bed with you again, gorgeous," he muttered suggestively as she gave him a 'kiss hello.'

"Me neither." She buried her head in the crook of his neck for a moment, before they disentangled to grab his stuff and hurry out of the hospital. Damon had had more than enough - and to think he'd gotten lucky with being released 'early'... He rolled his eyes to himself.

"Let's get you home," Elena said, before she drove him straight to the Salvatore's house. "Fair warning, though, we are having a meeting there. Stefan, Caroline, Bonnie and Enzo, Alaric, Matt…" she counted off a few more names, much to Damon's dismay. He had definitely had other plans with Elena on his first day back in freedom. Plans that did not involve the presence of all their friends and family.

"Can we at least get a quickie in, before they all come over?" he whined.

Elena gave him a look. "You're supposed to take it easy for a little while longer, Mr. Salvatore. Need I remind you that you _just_ had a heart attack? I don't want to be one of those women killing their husbands by having sex with them!"

"Did you just say 'husband?'" He grinned at her.

"You know what I mean…" She flushed, concentrating back on the road. They were almost there.

"I know that the doctor did not mention celibacy, so…" He grinned again, wiggling his eyebrows at her. Elena couldn't help but grin.

When she finally parked the car, he unfastened his seatbelt and quickly leaned over to kiss her ear. Then his lips wandered.

"Damon… they're all already in there," she tried and pointed at the other cars, but leaned her head back anyways, allowing him more access. "Damon…" She moaned. She didn't actually want to stop him. She was a little worried, but…

...

Fifteen minutes later, she smoothed his hair a little before they entered through the heavy front door. She had run her fingers through it a little too vigorously earlier.

"Okay, now you look decent again," she declared, and he gave her another kiss for good measure.

"Thanks, gorgeous. See, this kind of 'taking care,' I like much better."

Their good moods didn't last too long. When they walked in, a grave atmosphere greeted them. Elena leaned in to Damon and whispered, "No stupid comments, please, okay? After Vickie… committed suicide, and Jo running away… tempers are a bit, uh, short. And don't tell Stefan I told you about the thing with Klaus."

He looked resignedly at her, but allowed her a quick, "alright."

"Hello friends - and family! What did I miss?" he said as a way of greeting upon entering the big living room area.

Stefan, who had sat slumped in on himself on a chair they'd brought out from the kitchen, was the only one getting up to give him a hug.

"It's good to see you back here, brother," he said, and Damon noticed the younger one extending the hug a little too long.

"Likewise, Stef." He looked around. A few waves here and there, a warm smile from Bonnie, but other than that, it all looked like a pretty bleak welcome back party. Despite that, it felt good to see them all. He hadn't known what a blessing being alive and healthy was until he'd had that scare. Nothing was for granted.

"You're just in time for the good part," Alaric stated, but his expression was far from happy or excited.

"Alright, I'm dying with anticipation." A nudge from Elena made him change the direction of his sentence. "I mean, I'm all ears."

With that he and Elena sat down on one of the couches, and he gave a nod in Matt's direction, who had scooted over to make room for them. Damon honestly felt sorry for the kid. Whatever had happened with Vickie, it had aged him roughly ten years since Damon had last seen him.

The others didn't look too great, either. Lockwood looked like he'd just gotten there straight from a bar crawl, Bonnie looked exhausted and worried, Enzo still as pale as the last time he'd seen him at the hospital. Stefan had huge shadows surrounding his eyes, and Caroline was ominously sitting closer to Bonenzo than her supposed boyfriend.

Oooh. He raised an eyebrow as he saw their other guest in a darker corner of the room. That explained it. Valerie was there, too. Let the fun begin.

* * *

 _..._

 _I have so much fun writing this at the moment and it makes me happy to see some of you following along for the ride._

 _Special thanks, as always, to shadowdancer. And to Anna. Your feedback keeps me going. :)_


	13. This is it

...

Caroline pouted where she sat next to Bonnie on the couch.

Stefan had no right to be so upset with her. After all, it had been his idea to contact Klaus. He had been the one to entertain the idea of having the Original turn her again. She hadn't even really thought about it until he had brought it up! And to bring Valerie here! Ugh. She was _so_ angry that she had a hard time even concentrating on what Alaric was presenting to them all.

Of course she knew the biggest part of it, seeing as she, or rather the twins, had provided the most important information. Katherine was on her way back; with Cade.

They hadn't won that fight yet, after all. Whatever Bonnie had done, it had merely stalled the inevitable.

Caroline sighed. She would have to tell them all. Soon. _Now_ was probably best…

"Guys," she started, feeling uncomfortable. Like she had done something wrong. But… it didn't feel wrong at all.

* * *

...

He had toyed with her. Of course. He was Niklaus Mikaelson; how could he not? He had teased her. He had run his fingers over her face, had come real close so that she had felt his breath on her forehead, in her hair.

He'd walked around her, like a lion around his prey; a wolf…

"Caroline Forbes: what is your decision?" he'd asked her one more time; and while it had battled within her, he'd stared at her with his intense eyes.

...

She had to think of the twins. That was most important. She had to be there for them, had to protect them, had to be strong for them. What would they think if she never aged? What would she do if she had to see them die at an old age (and that was if they all were lucky)? Would she be able to live with that?

What about Stefan, who was human now - and not because of Bonnie's blast, but because of the cure?

What about her own shot at happiness?

There was so much to consider. There didn't seem to be a right answer. It was horrible. She was so torn.

But then she looked up again, where Klaus was still standing, waiting, his gaze trained on her. Those hypnotizing mesmerizing eyes…

And she said yes! Or rather, she blurted out an exasperated, "Alright, yes! I want you to turn me! But I want-"

She didn't get much further, though, as he'd already grabbed her in a fierce, ferocious embrace. He'd already shoved her back against the window behind her, where she got a last glimpse of the world with her human senses.

She felt him sniff her, sensually, he ran his hands over her neck, down the clavicle, down… he hoisted her up and the next thing she knew, they had taken their clothes off that were laying in a heap on the floor, just like them, a heap of bare limbs, writhing. There was ecstasy, bliss, there was…

At the climax of it all, she suddenly felt his kiss turn into a bite, felt his sharp teeth penetrate the delicate skin on the left side of her neck, and then nothing for a while.

Until she woke up and he'd already provided her with her first feast as a new vampire. She felt regret then, not because of her decision. Not even because of what amounted to betraying Stefan. But regret for the person Klaus had chosen to be her live meal.

"Caroline," Klaus drew out her name as he held their victim - _her_ victim - roughly by the arms. "This one's not a good person. Just how you like them, morally vile and irredeemable." He laughed.

She rolled her eyes at him, but then grinned and sank her teeth into the struggling human.

And just like that, Caroline Forbes was a vampire again.

* * *

...

Nobody really knew what to say when she told them. She'd obviously spared them the details, she just told them about Stefan's inquiry with Klaus and how she'd taken them both up on their offer.

Valerie, of all people, dared question her.

"Caroline. We don't even know what magic is at work here, how you turned human to begin with, and you had to mess with that?" The heretic gave her a look of contempt. "You didn't think this through, did you?"

"I need to be at my best, at my strongest! For my kids!" She told them all, desperate. "I need to know I can keep them safe. So, yes, I did think this through. If this means I messed with Bonnie's magic, and that it might bite me in the ass later down the road, then so be it!"

Valerie didn't say anything else, just very obviously turned toward Stefan. Screw her, Caroline thought.

Stefan didn't really look at either woman. He ran a hand through his hair, over his face, agitatedly. She couldn't blame him. She'd been honest with him, and while she knew he'd known about the danger of bringing Klaus into the mix, he hadn't really thought something like _that_ would happen. He felt betrayed, and rightfully so, she admitted. She didn't know what to make of her feelings anymore. For him, for Klaus. For Alaric and the girls. Somehow she'd managed to turn this into an even bigger mess. If only Stefan had never even brought his stupid idea up!

...

It had grown awfully quiet. Bonnie just stared at Caroline, and it pained her. She didn't really know what her friend was thinking. What any of them were thinking.

Alaric looked over to her, contemplating. Did she see his features grow softer for a moment there? Did she see something like understanding, even appreciation? He nodded to her, a barely visible gesture, before clearing his throat.

"Alright, guys. Let's focus back on, uh, our psychic blast problem. Bonnie and I sat down together and took stock… Um…" He started going through the names, the changes.

"Vickie: deceased..."

Everyone glanced at Matt. But he didn't seem to notice. Poor Matt. Caroline caught Tyler's eye as he was patting his best friend's shoulder. He shook his head.

"Jo: unaccounted for. I…" Ric's voice stumbled and almost broke. She saw him look at her, and she smiled reassuringly. She'd forever remember how he had eventually come over to her the day Jo had run. How he'd just started breaking down in front of her, blaming himself, crying. So lost.

Still staring at her, as if gaining strength through her, Alaric continued.

"She said her arms were growing translucent. But there was nothing there. Anyways. The rest of us is still here, though we have to take Damon's heart attack and Enzo's, um, laceration into consideration. Both injuries seem to be directly correlated to their respective dreams. There is no knowing whether the other two had any similar experiences, similar dreams, before but it seems like a possibility. It almost seems like different planes of existence are starting to…" he was looking for a fitting word, "interact with each other, to influence each other."

"Alright," Caroline piped up, "What about the rest of us, then? Anyone else with any dreams they'd like to share? Bonnie, you saw Grams, right? She told you about Cade. And the girls told me about him and… our favorite adversary we love to hate,"

"Katherine," Damon rolled his eyes.

"Yup yup," Caroline said, resignated. "We also have to take your parents into account, Elena. Aren't they…"

"My mom should be here any second," her friend said, checking her cell phone, and Caroline nodded.

"Right. Okay. So… we still don't quite understand who is affected, and why. Just as we don't know why not all of our dead got resurrected. Ty, you're fine, right?"

"I think so…"

"No weird dreams, no sudden injuries, no sudden urge to… hurt yourself?"

He looked slightly uncomfortable as he shook his head.

"Okay, great!" Carolines voice almost broke with the fake happiness she had put in it. "Stefan, Elena, what about you guys? Anything worth mentioning?"

They both looked at each other, then shook their heads. Stefan stared at Caroline pointedly. She bit the inside of her lower lip.

"Perfect. I'm thinking… - Gosh, is it hot in here? Can we, like, open a window or something?" Everyone stared at her as she fanned herself, but then, thankfully, she saw Stefan get up and walk over to the window. She mouthed a thanks in his direction, but he didn't even acknowledge it. She sighed. There was some work waiting for her.

"Okay, so," she went on, ignoring her relationship problems for the time being. "Bonnie created that blast of magic somehow. And the blast created another plane of existence, right?"

Alaric interrupted her.

"At this point we are more thinking of it as opening a door to another sphere, another place. Hence the brought back people. As far as we know, there's two different things going on here. Possibly three. A portal of sorts may have been opened and some of the dead came back. We still don't know what happened to the place - or places - at the other end of that portal. Whether they're still there. But we are now thinking there must have at least been a connection to Cade's 'hell.' Bonnie's pain and anger was directed at something immediately responsible for how she was feeling, so it's highly likely it was Cade."

Damon looked straight at Alaric, then at Caroline, until his gaze fell on Bonnie.

"Bon Bon. Since this is all tied to you, then, you gotta be the key to making it right again. You somehow 'decided' what happened. We get that you never really liked vampires, so no more vampires. Cool." He looked pointedly over to where Valerie sat, and wiggled his brows at her. She glared at him. "You also wanted certain people back, most prominently our lovable Englishman over there, who had been previously killed by Cade-fueled Ripper Stefan. But also the loved ones of your friends. Well, most of them."

Caroline felt a pang. It still stung, the knowledge that, for some reason, her mom wasn't among the ones resurrected. But like Elena had once told her, so wasn't Aunt Jenna. And others. It was just very random, and it had nothing to do with Caroline.

She heard Bonnie quietly explain, "Well, some of them may have _chosen_ not to return. Like my Grams. We don't know that, either."

Damon frowned. "Okay… So, what else? There's the curse that bound you to Elena, and obviously that's gone, too."

"Right." Bonnie agreed.

"So… why then the dreams now? And people dying again? How does that tie in with all this? Clearly, that's not what Bon would have ever wanted. We know this girl couldn't hurt a mosquito if it tried feeding on her." Damon winked at her. But she wasn't even looking at him. He saw her clinging to Enzo like her life depended on it. All this was getting to her more than she let on, but it was rather obvious to him. And he didn't like it one bit. He heard Ric try to explain something, but he kept looking over to Bonnie.

"We are thinking, Cade - possibly with Katherine's help - is behind this. That he's corrupting what Bonnie created."

They all heard the doorbell then, and Elena jumped up, excusing herself. "I'll get it, unless we are expecting anyone else, it's gotta be my mom."

While she left the room, the conversation went on without her, though she could still hear them go on and on.

She closed her eyes. Katherine was back. She'd have to face that bitch again. Elena sighed, composing herself a little before opening the front door. She was expecting her mom's apologetic face, expecting her to present her with fancy little cupcakes for the occasion. She already knew it was gonna get awkward to try and explain all that magic-y stuff to her.

She wasn't at all prepared, however, for both of her parents showing up. Not after she'd implored her mom not to tell her dad. But here he was, one arm gallantly draped around his beautiful wife, a handsome smile on his face. They looked so gorgeous together, so happy, like the perfect couple, her beautiful parents.

"Hello, sweetheart. Your mom said you all are having a little get together for Damon."

Elena froze. All she could do was stand there and stare.

Her dad didn't seem to notice as he gave her a hug, as if they'd never even had that awkward last encounter. She shrugged her way out of it, staring at him.

"Dad. I don't think you're welcome here. I'm sorry."

His expression darkened. "Excuse me? Is that you talking, Elena, or that boyfriend of yours? It's not still because of our little… talk, is it?"

Miranda looked uncomfortably from her husband to her daughter, "Elena, sweetie, I'm sorry, I thought… we will just stay in the background, alright?"

Elena did not know what to do. Call for Damon? Was there any way to elegantly solve this issue without ostracizing her dad completely?

"Dad," she tried again, urgently now. "Our 'little talk' showed me what you really think of vampires. That," she looked to her mom briefly, "you're not just a hunter to protect the innocent. I still don't know how to deal with what we talked about, and I don't want mom in the crossfire there. But what I do know is, that we have guests here that used to be vampires - or _are,_ and for them, I'll have to ask you to leave. They wouldn't tolerate your presence. Please don't make me choose a side."

Her dad's brow furrowed. "We're choosing sides now, sweetie? What is this, a war?"

"Elena?"

She didn't see him yet, just heard his voice behind her, but she was so relieved.

"Damon…"

"What's keeping you- Oh, hello, Papa Gilbert!" He almost yelled it, not very inconspicuously. It was a simple, yet effective way of letting everyone know they had a hunter in the house. Elena wasn't sure she liked his approach and she gave him a sideways glance.

She still hoped they could avoid another encounter between her dad and Enzo. But now that Damon had basically tipped his friend off to who was standing a mere few feet from him, she was sure there was no escaping that.

Unless Bonnie could persuade Enzo to secretly leave…

* * *

...

Enzo had been slouching on the couch, trying to keep track of everyone's theories instead of falling asleep, when he heard Damon's voice call out from somewhere in the hallway. He was so horribly sleep deprived that, for a moment, he was sure he'd imagined it. Surely, no one had been stupid enough to invite Grayson Gilbert over to this meetup.

He tensed anyway. It was like a reflex. He sat up straighter and ran a hand over his forehead, telling himself to keep it together. His lack of sleep was really starting to take a toll. The constant underlying pain throbbing in his arm didn't help matters, either. The pain wasn't even bad, not by his standards, anyway. But it never stopped and it was starting to seriously wear on him.

Even when tortured, he had usually had breaks, if short, from the pain here and there, because they'd allow his body to heal before continuing with the next round of whatever horrors they'd had in store for him.

Now the pain was always there. He also couldn't freakin' sleep anymore, because if he did, the past was back, and with it the sudden danger of it affecting his life, and with that, Bonnie. He needed to be strong for her.

She was looking at him now, concerned, and he tried to smile for her, but found that he couldn't, because it was then that he heard the voice again. That handsome if cold voice.

He swallowed, then hung his head, contemplating.

"Enzo," he heard Bonnie whisper, urgently, "let's go."

He pulled himself up, tall, his face blank. He felt her hand on his cheek. He felt so much. And then, nothing.

* * *

…

 _Geez. This one was tough to write! I hope it isn't too convoluted. Hopefully the next one will be easier again._

 _Thank you for your kind feedback, as always. You don't even know how awesome you are. You always make my day. :)_

 _Shadowdancer: ya, Miranda is a bit of the other side of the coin, so to speak. We shall see how things will go for the poor Gilbert family. And Katherine... she's definitely a great villain, isn't she? She's more multi-faceted, too. Because as much as I enjoyed Kai, he was, in a way, rather one dimensional. (Though, of course, it's easy enough to change that in fanfic...)_

 _Anna: I'm the same. I saw "Valerie" first on SN (I was so late catching up with TVD) so my view was already tainted from the start. lol: We shall see what "fate" has in store for Stefan and the women in his life..._

 _Guest: you don't know how far just a few kind words go, so thanks for the encouragement. :)_


	14. What it is to burn

...

Katherine exhaled deeply. Then, panting, she tried again. Her curls, wild and tangled, were blown around her head as the axe flew down on the big lock. It finally sprang open and revealed… nothing!

What the hell?! She was getting angry again. All of this sucked. She needed a break. So she laid down the axe and sat down by his feet, massaging them for him. She began telling him a sad story and appealed to the last bit of good that was still in him. She made him almost overexert himself by draining off more of the Bennett witch's little magic veil to let her take a stroll among the living.

And this time, it really worked.

...

"Hello girls!" She cheerfully exclaimed, and the two adorable minions ran to her like they had ran to that siren Seline before. Their parents should seriously step it up with the lessons about stranger danger. Then again, neither Seline nor she had been real strangers…

"Kathy!" The bolder one screeched, as she put her arms around her. Her sister followed quickly behind.

"We thought we wouldn't see you again." They sounded so adorably concerned.

"Mommy made us stay somewhere else, she didn't seem to like you for some reason. She said…"

Katherine smiled at them. "Don't worry, girls. Your mommy won't mind. Besides, it's just gotten so much easier for me to see you two. No more sneaking behind mommy's back to help a princess in need. I'm here to stay."

"You are?" The girls' eyes widened, they were so excited. When she gave them a quick nod, they started screaming with excitement. She laughed. She had to admit these two were really cute.

She wondered whether she could claim them as relations of sort, seeing as Caroline had carried them like they were her own, and, well, Katherine had been her "vampire-mother," so to speak. She grinned to herself.

Suddenly they grew quiet. It was Lizzie who leaned forward till she was very close to Katherine's ear.

"What is it, sweetheart?"

"That scary man… he's not staying, too, is he?"

Her smile widened. "Funny you should bring him up. As a matter of fact, I think I may need you two to help me one last time so that we can get rid of him eventually. One last spell… Do you think you could do that?"

The twins nodded happily.

"Good."

* * *

...

* * *

 **Unspecified past**

...

"Sweetie. Please don't cry. I'll come get you as soon as I'm done here, okay? Mom is still at her Founders event? Did you try calling there? Okay. I'll… I'll have to finish something at work and then I'll come get you. I'll be quick. I promise. - But you need to promise me something in return. Go inside now and wipe your face. Wipe the tears off. We don't want that stupid teacher to see that she got to you, right? That she hurt you. So no more crying now, and when I'm there, we will talk to her, together." The same handsome smile he wore on his face could be heard in his voice. "I love you too, sweetie."

Enzo had involuntarily heard the entire conversation and could only marvel at how sick this man really was. There he was, one hand still embedded in Enzo's ribcage, and with the other he'd checked his phone, then answered it, saying, "I'm sorry, Lorenzo, this one I have to take. Please, try not to make too much noise."

Enzo had felt the beginnings of a disbelieving grin on his face then, but he'd reined it in.

That man was really serious.

Once Gilbert had ended the conversation, he slowly extricated the hand he'd kept in Enzo's body the whole time he'd been on the phone. With his daughter, Enzo presumed. There were details you learned about the lives of your torturers. Details that'd slowly turn into a picture.

"I guess one of us is the lucky one today. I get to be the knight in shining armor for my beautiful daughter. And you, well, you get to go back to your room now." Grayson Gilbert sighed. "All this for naught. I'm afraid I'll have to start from the beginning tomorrow then. The surgery is coming up very soon and I really need to make this approach work to save that poor man's life. He has family, Lorenzo. People that love and need him…"

Enzo felt his body shake as if it wasn't his own. As if he was merely an observant.

Not again. He kind of wished that girl had never called. At least then there might have been a chance Gilbert would have finally finished his cardiothoracic surgery practice and would have moved on to something else.

Now, though...

Grayson Gilbert cleaned his arms and hands in the big steel sink on the far wall of the room. "On the plus side, I'll get to hear you scream again. It's become such a rare pleasure, but there's always something missing without it. Something…" he paused, lost in thought for a moment. When he reemerged, he had a strange look on his face.

"You don't want to make me have to hurt others, do you, Enzo? Because if I don't believe that you're truly suffering anymore, I need to find someone who still does. Suffer…" he paused again, taking a long glance at Enzo, "Also… I'd have to believe you don't have what you pretend to have: a soul. And then your argument would be proven wrong. Wouldn't it?"

He didn't wait for Enzo to say anything. They both knew he wouldn't. Instead, he simply left, leaving his "subject" with his chest cavity open to the ice cold air. With all the time to hate his life another day and to hope, hope beyond hope, even though there shouldn't even be any hope left in him, that one day, he'd finally be rewarded for all this pain and that he, too, would have someone he could love, like that _man_ loved his family. And that maybe, then, his pain would finally end. That he would get revenge.

For now, though, Enzo clenched his teeth against the agony and tried to breathe as shallowly as possible, waiting for unconsciousness to engulf him, to give him a much needed break...

* * *

...

* * *

 **Now**

...

Bonnie knew she'd lost her grip on him the second he clenched his teeth and she felt his jaw muscles work underneath her touch.

"Enzo," she tried regardlessly. The problem was, she understood him so perfectly. She'd have reacted the same way. What else to do when the person that had tortured you for years was suddenly back in your life? Bonnie felt like her heart was going to explode with love and concern for him. She couldn't bear to see him suffer.

She knew she wasn't responsible for his past. He kept telling her that when he'd wake up from yet another dream, sweaty and shaken. In her head, she knew that. In her heart, though, she felt like her stupid blast that had turned him human had also broken down his defensive barriers and had let in the horrors he'd had to endure in another life, a life before her.

Now all that was back; because she had brought back his tormentor. If only she could take it back.

Enzo was still standing with her, tall, his whole posture very erect. Like he was preparing for a fight. She had seen him like that before, when he put up his alpha male show, back in his vampire days. He still did it, at times, when he felt she was being threatened. Like with Stefan at the hospital. She vividly remembered that.

Despite everything, it always turned her on a little. A _lot_. She shook her head. Now was probably not a good time for thoughts like that.

When Enzo abruptly started walking toward the voices coming from the hallway, Bonnie gasped. Then she noticed Stefan get up, then Valerie. The others looked alarmed.

"Enzo." It was Stefan's urgent voice she heard next. They all knew what could happen, how dangerous the situation was. Stefan was trying to block the other man's path.

"Get out of my way, Stefan," Enzo snarled when Stefan didn't budge. Enzo got in his face, but Stefan remained calm.

"I can't let you do this, man."

"Do what exactly?!"

Both men were tense, but for different reasons.

"You can't fight him. This is my house, and my rules-"

"Your 'rules?' Do those include sanctuary for torturers?" Enzo was angry, angrier than anyone had ever seen him, and eerily calm. Bonnie grabbed his good arm, but he shook her off. "You'd better stay out of this, love. I don't want you to get hurt," he muttered without looking at her.

Because if he'd looked at her, he wouldn't have gone through with it. He would have stayed with her…

"I can't let you fight the father of my friend. And I can't let you hurt yourself trying." Stefan sounded determined. He pointed to Enzo's chest, his arm. It was very clear what he was trying to get at. Human, injured Enzo was no match for the very fit Grayson Gilbert.

Enzo bristled. "You don't have any fucking idea what that man did."

"I do." Damon suddenly piped up as he reentered the room.

Enzo threw his head back a little, snorting. "Then _you_ understand why I can't-"

Damon cut his friend off, shooting a glance at Bonnie as he did. "I do. I really really do." He sounded unusually weary, and regretful. "I wish I didn't, but… yeah, well. But, Enzo, my man, this is not the time, nor the place. Besides. I just sent him home..."

"Enzo." Grayson Gilbert sounded disgustingly delighted.

Damon rolled his eyes, and exchanged a glance with his angry friend. "Well, I thought I did," he muttered, shrugging apologetically before placing a hand on Enzo's neck. "Don't," he implored the other man, and for some reason, his friend actually listened and didn't move.

Damon turned around to stare at Grayson Gilbert and spotted a slightly struggling, upset Elena by his side. She had clearly been trying to keep him from doing this, from strutting straight into the house and into the living room. But without her former vampire strength, she was no match for her father. The bastard still managed to make it all seem like some big misunderstanding. He had even put an arm around his daughter. Damon was suddenly furious.

Grayson had the audacity to smile at everyone, then zone in on Enzo. Damon closed his eyes. He'd have to do it after all, pick a side. Except, he didn't. He'd forgotten all about Bon Bon's reawakened magic. He actually tapped his head now, as he remembered why they'd even had that stupid meeting. He was an idiot. They all were.

...

Bonnie rarely lost her temper. But when she did, things could get ugly. And you didn't play games or threaten the people she loved - especially the one person she loved the most.

When she'd seen Grayson Gilbert walk over to Enzo as if he had all the right in the world to do so, a smug, triumphant grin on his face, Bonnie forgot whose father he was. She was angry now, too.

"Stay away!" she yelled as she raised one hand and grabbed her boyfriend's arm with the other, pulling herself in front of him. Her nostrils flared. She was acutely aware of the trickle of blood finding its way down onto her upper lip just as Mr. Gilbert's hand touched his own nose and came away red.

"Bonnie. We're all friends here," he said and he sounded just like he'd always sounded, nice and so very very friendly. "I still remember when you came over to have dinner at our house a lot and-"

"Stop it!" She interrupted him, she didn't want to hear it, she didn't want to be reminded of the good times. Not right now, not when Mr. Gilbert simply wanted to use the past as a means to distract her. She could see right through his lame plan.

"Bonnie? Please…" It was Elena.

"I'm sorry Elena, but I can't… I can't let him…" Tears started running down her face. Enzo was trying to get her to step behind him again, but she wasn't done yet.

"You need to go, Mr. Gilbert!" Bonnie choked out as they all heard the windows break in the house, then the tumblers and bottles the Salvatores kept in the living room. There was a weird droning sound and a horrible wind and Bonnie wasn't entirely sure whether it was only in her head or not, until she noticed everyone had started clutching their heads.

"You need to stop, love," Enzo very calmly told her, but she didn't even really know what he meant, what she was doing. There was so much anger and worry...

She glanced at him, unsure. He was smiling, but he, too, was holding his hands over his ears, and Bonnie saw the blood trickle out from between his fingers.

No, she thought. No no no no. They were all bleeding. Not just Mr. Gilbert. And they were all calling her name. She was hurting them all!

"Bonnie… look at me." Enzo fought the pain and stood up, facing the woman he loved. Gently, he took her face in his hands, flinching as the horrible noise filled his ears again, making his head feel like it was about to explode. But he needed to focus on her. He made her look into his eyes. Their noses touched, and he smiled. "I appreciate your help, love, but now it's time to stop."

"I…" her voice shook hard, "I don't think I can."

"Course you can, Bon Bon!" Damon yelled against the noise. "Come on! You started it, you can stop it. You got this, Bon. - Stop this horrible noise and I promise you, I'll lock Papa Gilbert up myself!"

Bonnie didn't see the look Elena shot Damon, she was too focused on getting her magic back under control.

She breathed in through her nose, all the while looking at Enzo. As she struggled to rein in her magic, she suddenly realized that she had to get her feelings under control first. Her hatred for Grayson Gilbert, but also her love for her friends. For Enzo. She needed to focus on the good, she needed to stop.

Enzo was still holding her face, their gazes still locked, when everything finally fell silent. The wind ceased and Bonnie fell into Enzo's arms as the world grew black around her.

"Well, Enzo, I daresay you found yourself a most fascinating love interest. I never knew little Bonnie to be such a force of nature…" Grayson Gilbert helped his wife to the nearest chair, then dabbed his ears with a handkerchief.

But before anyone could do anything, try to kill him, throw him out, lock him up, or accuse him of having lived a lie, the door to the backyard suddenly flew open and a woman in a beautiful blue dress came barging in, two little girls with her, each holding one of her hands.

...

Katherine Pierce was back.

Caroline screamed, but Katherine had let go of the girls already and they were walking over to their parents as if it was nothing, completely unaware of any danger they might have been in. Alaric and Caroline picked them up together and tried their best to shield them.

But Katherine wasn't even paying attention to them anymore.

"Well, hello. Did anyone miss me?" She said, grinning wide as she walked straight over to Grayson and gave him a kiss on the cheek. "Grayson," she said, "need I remind you that your personal agenda has to wait till we are done here? You almost ruined everything. But okay, I'll forgive you, I'll even still honor our deal and let you keep your dear wifey and sweet little Elena here," she gave her doppelgänger an unwanted hug, "and this guy. Whatever the hell you see in him." She pranced over to Enzo and Bonnie, but when she wanted to touch the former vampire, Bonnie stirred in his arms, and her hand flew up to slap Katherine's cheek before Bonnie was even completely conscious again.

Katherine Pierce pretended to be shocked and hurt for a second, looking into the witch's upset face before she started laughing. "Well, I guess he's kinda cute; I'll give you that, little witch. But don't try anything!" She raised a hand, "I brought backup." She pointed behind her, where Cade suddenly appeared as if out of thin air, smiling at everyone.

Damon rolled his eyes, and Stefan made a face. Katherine chuckled at both of them.

"Let's get this party started!" She suggested, clapping her hands as she walked over to her favorite pair of brothers.

"I need a drink," Damon muttered, but when he looked over to their bar, he just saw the heap of glass shards Bonnie's outburst had left and his mouth turned into a thin, disappointed line.

* * *

...

 _Thanks, Anna, for your review! Yes, Valerie was Toni to me first, and I only gradually got over that. First impressions. lol I wonder whether it would have been different had I seen her first on TVD. I also didn't really like how they sprung her on us. I mean, weren't the Salvatore's all over Katherine? And suddenly there was Valerie with Stefan? I don't know._

 _Anyways. I'm very glad to hear you liked it thus far. I'm trying my best with keeping the characters true to their show's nature, but I'm not that skilled so it may sound better in my head then it does on paper. :)_


	15. Guilty Party

...

Up until that point, Valerie had had a sliver of hope for a future for her and Stefan. She'd done everything to nurture that hope, to let it grow.

She hadn't hesitated when he'd called, overwhelmed by his new humanity and the grief coming with it, and she'd traveled to him right away.

She had sat down with him, hunted down all those that had been victimized by his killing spree with Klaus. Then there were the other victims...

She had done a lot of compelling, and a few spells along the way. And she'd been there to hold him that one time he'd broken down completely. With Caroline so far away, she'd happily stepped up to the task. And while she hated to see Stefan so hurt, so sad, it had felt oh so good to embrace him and feel him cry in her arms.

She had been there for him.

She had done everything for him. She had even put a spell on the house Caroline and Alaric had moved the kids to after the first mention of Katherine, so that they would be safe.

Then she had been there to listen when he had told her how hurt he was that Caroline had slept with Klaus, and how he couldn't even blame her, just himself, and how that made it somehow worse.

She had been his rock.

But now she sat in a dark corner in his dark living room with all these people she didn't really care about, and that woman had shown up. Katherine.

And while nobody else might have seen it yet - they were all so pathetically stuck in their own little dramas - she had seen it as clear as day: she had lost her sliver of hope. There would be no happily ever after for her with Stefan Salvatore. Because a very long time ago another woman had already claimed his heart. And even though she could tell he didn't want to allow that memory to return, he was already wavering, already staring at her with the eyes of a lover.

Katherine Pierce hadn't even started fighting, but she had already won.

Valerie took a shallow breath. She closed her eyes. She should just get out of there. This wasn't her fight any more. It had never really been hers.

But when she got up and tried to sneak out unnoticed, quickly vanishing in the hallway while everyone's attention was on Elena's evil twin, she hadn't anticipated to be ricocheted off of what seemed to be thin air upon opening the front door and trying to walk out.

So much for an exit under the radar. But she didn't have time to process that thought before she ended up crashing into the living room and losing conscience upon impact with th hardwood floor.

* * *

...

There was no bourbon, and without bourbon, Damon knew he'd have to suffer through Katherine's monologue sober, which sucked.

Cade had apparently used the earlier commotion to quickly put a spell on the house, so they were all trapped inside. This should be interesting. Damon already got some Breakfast Club vibes.

Maybe if Bon could reactivate her super awe inspiring magic, that'd be great. Then again, his head still rang from the impact she had had on them all. Besides, he was a little worried she might end up blowing herself - and them - up if she tried again.

He sighed. Quickly, he made his way over to Elena, to get her out of her awkward spot next to her dad, and to be able to protect her from Katherine and his former "boss" if need be. He smiled a fake smile at her dad, then said, "I'll take it from here, thanks."

Before the other man could intervene, Damon had pulled his startled girlfriend over to his side. She wasn't safe with her father anymore. Not now that he'd turned out to be on freakin' Katherine's side.

Damon watched Elena closely as he wrapped his arm around her, steering her away from her parents and over to their friends. She looked deeply shaken. He could see the shock in her face, her mouth still half open, her eyes brimming with unshed tears. It was so sad to see her like that, his beautiful girl. His heart broke for her. She truly loved her parents. They had raised her, they had been good to her all their lives. To her, they were good people.

And then Katherine had barged in and destroyed even the last hope that somehow there was still some kind of redemption possible for Papa Gilbert.

Did this all mean that Bonnie hadn't actually been the one responsible for his return from the dead? What about the others, then? Elena's mom, Matt Donovan's sister, Jo, Tyler…

"Mind if we sit down again?" He casually asked Katherine as if she were an old friend, but then didn't wait for her reply.

"Damon, Damon, Damon, I gotta say I actually kinda missed you." Katherine grinned as she was doing her rounds. She stooped down to where he and Elena had sat down and gently touched his lips with an extended finger. Elena next to him bristled. "No need to be jealous, darling," Katherine assured her, and Elena glared at her.

"Leave them alone."

The words had come from Stefan, who had been tending to Valerie but was now walking over to Katherine slowly. Her features softened. "Stefan. I hear you're human again. I've always had a soft spot for human you…"

"What do you want, Katherine?" He was in a no nonsense mood. Clearly, he hadn't enjoyed them finding out they were all locked in when Valerie had tried to walk out and had flown straight back into the house with such force it had knocked her out.

They'd put her down on the couch, checked on her, but she hadn't regained consciousness yet. Stefan was angry. Angry that his life was falling apart. Caroline… Now Valerie giving him that weird look, then vanishing without warning only to basically be thrown back at him. And of course, Katherine's return, with Case tagging along.

He had thought he had left both of them behind. Cade, who hadmade him do horrible horrible things. And Katherine, who had started it all.

Yet he couldn't quite snuff that glimmer of a feeling, long buried, that had flickered up again once she had entered the scene. She still held power over him.

"What I want?" She repeated his question. "What I want is revenge for what was done to me. I want to see people suffer. I want what is mine. I want - satisfaction."

Damon rolled his eyes and faked a yawn. His brother glared at him. He didn't want Damon to get himself hurt, but of course he was already on a straight path to it. Stefan shook his head at him. _Don't_ , he mouthed.

* * *

...

Alaric and Caroline had brought the girls upstairs. Katherine had been generous enough to allow them to leave the living room area. As she had put it, she didn't "need them" right now. They would rather not question it, though they worried about the "right now" part.

The girls were completely unperturbed and were happily playing with the little toy train Stefan had set up for them for when they all visited him. Caroline felt some regret thinking about it now. Would she ever be able to make up with him? How could they live together when he was a human and she was… back to being immortal. It sounded fine in theory. But… what about when he got older, and weaker, and she was still the same youthful girl? He might start resenting her then.

She shouldn't think about all that, not at this moment. She and Alaric needed to figure out how to get the girls out of the house, away from Cade and Katherine. They needed to find a way to free their friends.

"Ric, I… what do we do?"

He shot a glance at their girls, happily playing, then concentrated back on her. "Well, we gotta do something. This is all bad, really really bad. I tried calling Dorian at the Armory. But I guess Cade's spell also counts for phones."

She briefly checked her own cell phone, something she should have done a long time ago, but there was no signal. "Ugh. I hate hate _hate_ this! What do we do?! To think that Katherine got to the girls and - oh my _god!"_ She couldn't even put it into words, she was so shaken, so terrified for them. What good had it done her that she was a vampire again? Nothing. Absolutely nothing. Her girls had still ended up getting taken by Katherine.

"Caroline." Alaric sounded surprisingly, thankfully calm. "We'll figure something out. We always do. Right now we need to figure out what exactly Katherine and Cade could be planning, and how they're messing with Bonnie's spell. Also… I'm starting to think that her little conversation with Elena's dad clued us in on something important. The returned-"

"The former dead people, you mean?"

"Ya. Jo. Elena's parents, Tyler, Vickie… Bonnie didn't do any of that, I don't believe. I think when Bonnie cast her spell accidentally, she opened a way into Cade's psychic plane. Those people must have all been there."

"Jo?! Elena's mom?! In hell?!"

Alaric looked at her uncomfortably. "Well, remember what Stefan and Damon said about working with Cade? How they ended up corrupting perfectly good people just for the sake of it? I'm sure Jo has had her fair share of… 'bad' thoughts about Kai… and Miranda Gilbert… she knew about the vampire hunting, she married a mad man."

Caroline wanted to say something, but she couldn't.

"Anyway." Ric put his hand on her shoulder, smiling at her briefly. "The good news is, your mom was probably never in the same plane of existence as all of them were." He looked at her pointedly. "You understand?"

And she did. She really did. She bit her lip and her face scrunched up as she tried not to cry. She didn't want to upset the girls needlessly. Her mom had not been in 'hell.'

It took her a moment, but when she had finally regained her composure, she sniffed, then said, "So, what now?"

"Now we gotta come up with a plan to get us all out of here. With Bonnie's help."

"Well, I doubt she'll be of much help in the current state she's in. Besides, her main concern right now should be Enzo trapped in the same house as Elena's dad, right?"

"Right. That _is_ a… problem."

Alaric was surprised to feel a sudden fatherly worry for Elena. He hadn't felt much like an ersatz-father to her in a long time, what with her being gone for a long time and then being preoccupied with his girls. But now that feeling had returned. She was, somehow, still one of his girls. And he hated to see her trapped in the crossfire. Something needed to be done about Grayson Gilbert first, before they could tackle their real problem.

* * *

...

Enzo had taken Bonnie over to the kitchen. Or maybe she had taken him over there, he was kind of fuzzy on the details. It had all been a bit of a blur. All he needed to know was that she was safe and slowly recovering. He'd propped her up on one of the stools at the counter and had made her drink some water from a pot - seeing as all the freakin' glasses and cups and mugs in this obnoxious house were broken.

She looked a little better already. Which was good, because he felt the weakness in his own body, and he knew he wouldn't be able to protect her much. He needed her to be strong and be able to fend for herself if it came to it.

"I'm okay now," she weakly whispered, clasping his hand in hers as he hovered over her, and he smiled.

"That's a lie, love, but I appreciate the effort."

"I can't lose you again, Enzo."

"You won't. I'm right here."

She stared at him, a question in her eyes. She raised herself up a bit, sighing. "But that... that _man_ is right out there…"

He closed his eyes, then looked at her. He got up and walked over to the sink, filling her pot with more water. She hadn't even finished it yet.

"I know, love," he finally allowed. "As long as he doesn't come in here, we're fine. I think what I've found out today is… I don't need revenge. I got all I ever wanted, with you. And I'm not willing to lose that, for anything. That man destroyed enough already. So as long as he stays out there and doesn't threaten your safety, we should all be fine."

Bonnie squinted at him. She could see right through him of course. But she desperately wanted to believe his words. Still, she had to challenge him.

"He killed you," she reminded him. "Over and over and over. He killed you a thousand times, and you say you can let it go now? All of a sudden?"

He leaned against the sink, pot in hand, and took her in. That beautiful strong woman, her dark curls, her collarbones, that little freckle right above the root of her nose. He sighed. She knew him better than anyone ever had. He wasn't used to it yet, even after they had spent the last three years together.

"I won't ever be able to let it go, love," he admitted with a heavy heart. "I'm not that strong, or that good of a man. But what I want more than anything, is to live my life with you. I don't know how I'll be able to get my freaking past under control, or those stupid dreams, but I know that I won't let it consume me. I can't promise I won't eventually go after him - I don't care whose father he is. But it's not going to happen today."

His jaw muscles were working again, but other than that he remained calm. Bonnie got up, off her chair, and slowly walked over to him.

"Okay," she said, as she swiped a hand over his face and kissed him. "Okay. But when the day comes, know I'll be right by your side." She gazed at him intently before she repeated, enunciating every word carefully so as to make sure he understood, "I'll be right by your side."

* * *

...

* * *

[ _Three years ago..._ ]

...

Oh please no…

Bonnie was in the bathroom when she heard the door open. She had hoped she would be done with this stupid… stomach bug or whatever it was, before he got back. But noooo.

She was right in the middle of it, retching into the toilet bowl, barely able to hold herself up anymore, when she heard the front door being opened. Enzo was back early. Perfect.

"FML," she muttered to herself while she tried to get up and get some water to clean herself. She was so woozy by then, she had difficulty walking over to the sink and turning the stupid faucet on. Her hand shook so hard that she dropped the glass she had tried to fill and it shattered into a million tiny pieces that sprang all around her.

Another wave of nausea. She closed her eyes and hoped it'd pass, but nope… off she stumbled to the toilet bowl, for round number six or seven, or maybe even ten. She had lost count an hour ago.

Why did this have to happen to her? Why?

"Is everything alright in there?"

Gosh, his stupid English accent! Why couldn't he just go away?!

"Bonnie."

He was obviously waiting for her to reply.

"I'm not going before I have an answer. Are. You. Alright?"

"Yes! Geez," she wheezed out, and stared at her hair that had vomit in it now. Great. Freaking awesome. "Can you just leave me alone? Just leave the cabin while you're at it and let a woman throw up in peace."

She wanted to cry. Vomit in her hair, shards of glass everywhere, the stupid vampire right in front of the door, surely laughing at her expense. Could it get much worse?

She felt her saliva pool and quickly crouched over the toilet bowl again to throw up another time, kneeling on the floor, sweaty and cold, her knees now bleeding, thanks to the broken glass. She did start crying then. How could she not?

...

The smell of her blood must have alarmed him. She couldn't be sure, she was in a haze of sickness and crying when he suddenly appeared by her side and she watched as he kneeled down beside her, gently wiping her mouth with a damp washcloth.

"I'm…. disgusting," she mumbled, slumping her shoulders and making an unhappy face.

"The toilet bowl looks worse," he stated rather drily and she wanted to laugh, but felt too weak for even that.

"Go on. Tell me you warned me about eating that leftover soup," she muttered after a couple of minutes of silence had passed. She saw him smile, but without mirth. He actually looked... sympathetic.

"I did warn you about eating that leftover soup."

She managed to glare at him. He was too perfectly dressed, dark shirt, dark pants, his stupid leather jacket with the standing collar. Even his hair was perfect. And here she sat in her own yuck, hair plastered over her forehead, breath smelling rank, not to mention her clothes…

"I really wish you looked less perfect right now," she told him between sobs, and saw his smile widen.

"Looks are deceiving, love," he informed her, "We both know it's the inside that counts and I can't hold a candle to you there. Now, let's get you cleaned up and out of here."

"I got it. I…" Her legs gave way as she tried to stand, and his arms came around her to keep her from falling. "Okay," she sobbed, "I give up."

She'd never live this down, she thought. Never.

He helped her clean herself up, took care of her knees, and carried her over to the bed, where he set her up with black tea and crackers, and a bucket by her side. He would surely have a field day with this tomorrow and then he'd bring it up as long as this "thing" was still going on, them both together in that cabin. She just knew it.

But then she fell asleep, exhausted, and tomorrow came, and she woke up to fresh tea, a clean bathroom, a fridge without any more leftovers, and he was a perfect gentleman and never even said a word about it all.

Who _was_ this man even? She wondered.

* * *

...

* * *

...

This was not how she wanted this to end. She'd gotten her daughters back - or her daughters had gotten _her_ back. And she wasn't willing to give that up just yet.

Jo took a deep breath, then exhaled in a big puff. She needed to concentrate on feeling better, for her kids. She hadn't seen them in a week, but now she finally felt like she had it together again enough to come see them.

The Salvatore house hadn't been her first address, but when she had found neither Caroline nor Alaric anywhere and had been told that the girls hadn't been sent to preschool anymore, she hadn't known where else to go.

Caroline basically lived at Stefan's house anyways, right?

But once she got there, something was off. She couldn't even touch the doorbell. It was like a shockwave emanated from it if she tried. She was determined enough to walk around the big building, and that was when she finally noticed that all the windows seemed to be broken - and that while she could see people inside, they didn't seem to be able to see her.

That, of course, did not help with her delusions of translucency, and she almost laughed at the thought, but then didn't want to end up in hysterics so she swallowed it.

And then she saw the double Elena, one curly haired and in a gorgeous dress with a wide skirt and pearls of some sort that sparkled beautifully in the sun. And the other one with shiny straight hair, and a pair of jeans and fitted top, sitting huddled next to Damon.

What the hell was going on in there?

Jo looked up, confused, when she suddenly spotted her babies by a window up top. They were waving at her. Could _they_ see her then? She waved up to them, smiling, and she distantly heard Alaric call out to them to stay away from the window.

"Who are you waving to?" It was Caroline. She suddenly appeared by the girls' side and stared out, straight through Jo. The girls voices were unintelligible down where she stood, but they must have told Caroline about her, because she suddenly saw Ric appear right next to her and call out.

"Jo? If you're really there: the girls are fine. - It's Katherine and Cade. They put a spell on the house. We can't get outside. - Whatever is going on with you, it's probably also because of them. Jo, please, please be out there. We could really use some help. Try and get Dorian at the Armory to find something about this spell. We need to get out!"

But Jo already knew what she needed to do.

Alaric had told her a lot about that man, Arcadius, about how powerful he was. That he had created his own version of hell, and that apparently, he could - and did - bring back the dead. Including her.

And Kai.

Jo had thought he was just another figment of her imagination when she had spotted him from afar at that bar the other night. Now, though, she was certain it had really actually been him. Because if one person was sneaky and powerful and bad enough to have been in hell and escaped, it was her brother. She had a feeling he was already on his way there, because Cade and Katherine should be the most perfect source of power for him.

She would only have to wait a little longer for him to find them. Then, she would try to persuade him to help her and her daughters, those two girls that were just like him.

And then? She'd have to think about that later. First, she needed to get her girls, her family, to safety.

* * *

...

* * *

 **Eight months later…**

...

Bonnie picked up her phone in a haste. She'd waited for this call for a very long time.

"Good news, Bon," Damon told her, and she could tell that he was walking through the rain somewhere. "Your location spell finally worked."

She breathed out a sigh of relief, clutching her throat. She hadn't even realized she'd been holding her breath for a while. Damon and Alaric had found them. Enzo and Elena were safe. They were with Damon.

The pattering rain sounded like it was picking up. A storm was coming.

"Are they okay?" Bonnie yelled so that Damon could hear her over the harsh downpour. She heard him sigh.

"Uh, Elena is, she's… hanging in there," Damon finally yelled back, and she detected a strange tone in his voice. Was it because of Elena, or… Bonnie felt a sudden panic rise.

"Where is Enzo? You found him too, right? He was with them when-

"Bon…"

"Damon, where is he? Let me talk to him. Is he..." She started crying before he'd even said anything.

"He wasn't with them anymore, Bon. Elena's dad… since he and his old acquaintances resurrected the freakin' Society, they've kept him somewhere else. We don't know yet, where."

Bonnie almost dropped her phone. "No…" It was an exhalation rather than an actual word. "How are we ever gonna find him?"

"Listen to me, Bon, we'll sort this out. We'll get him back. Ric and I are already on our way to..."

"No…" She started sobbing; her heart was in a vise, her throat clenched shut.

"Bon. Bonnie," Damon implored her, "talk to me. - It'll be alright. You know Enzo, he's a tough son of a bitch. If anyone can get out of this all right, it's him."

But Bonnie wasn't so sure…

* * *

 _..._

 _Thanks again for reading, and especially for the feedback. Shadowdancer: no worries. Enjoy your family time! I would love to hear from you whenever you get back. But just know that I've appreciated your kind words very much - and technically, you were the first to show any interest in this story, so you are to "blame" for me having continued to put it up here. :) Thank you. It'll definitely be interesting to see what Katherine is really planning._

 _Anna: thank you, too! - Yes. lol. Maybe they retconned it for the sake of Valerie making sense to us (the Katherine thing). Anyways. You also touch on the thing that interests me a lot about the show: how characters like Damon and Stefan can still have our sympathy and understanding. And what kind of person you'd have to be to NOT get that same sympathy and shot at redemption._


	16. Wrecking Ball

...

What were you to do when you found yourself trapped in a house with your friends and parents, and suddenly you learned that your father, the first man that you ever wanted to marry, at the young age of five, when you learned that that man had gone to hell after his death and was back only because he had become an ally of your one true enemy?

What were you to do? Elena had no friggin' clue. She sat pressed against Damon, as if he could somehow shield her from the truth, and stared at her father.

He was sitting next to her mom, both looking tired, spent, both noticeably quiet now, after they'd had a fight earlier. She hadn't been able to hear what it was about, but she had an inkling. It wasn't hard to find a reason why her mom could have been upset. After all, she'd just learned a few very horrible details about her dear husband's life.

Elena felt nauseous. She wasn't sure whether it was because Katherine still hadn't allowed them to eat, or because of other, less physical reasons. Probably a mixture of both. She heard her stomach grumble, just as Damon next to her tightened his grip on her more.

"As 'nourishing' as your presence and your oh so fascinating account of your hell-life is, Katherine, can we at least order a pizza to go with it? I don't know about you, but my stomach is starting to growl so loudly that soon I won't be able to hear you anymore. And I mean, wouldn't that be a travesty?" Damon eventually interrupted a long monologue of Katherine's.

She whirled around and grinned at him. She wagged a finger in his face.

"What did I say about being interrupted?"

"Katherine. Unless you want to starve us, food would be a good idea. None of us are of any use to you if you don't give us food, and sleep." It was Stefan, who had dared to interrupt her yet again, and Elena was honestly worried about what her doppelgänger would do next.

"You too, Stefan?"

He stared at her, resignedly, then pointed at his watch. "It's four in the morning. You haven't let us eat or sleep. Most of us have been without food for a long time, and without sleep for even longer. You may have forgotten what it's like to be human, but..."

She broke into a smile. She was so close to him now that her dress brushed against his legs. She touched his lips, gently drawing a line around his mouth.

"Poor poor humans," she said with a pout as Stefan grabbed her hand. He looked angry.

"Katherine, don't you remember the path you were on? You are not a bad person, you're trying to make everyone believe you are, but I know better."

"Save your energy, handsome."

"I _know_ you aren't. I know there's a heart in you somewhere, and while I don't know what happened to you in 'hell,' I know you don't need all of us here. Let them go, and I _promise_ I'll go with you. Wherever you want."

"Don't even try, Stefan, she's hopeless," his brother grumbled, annoyed, while Katherine stopped in her tracks, contemplating Stefan's offer.

From where she sat, Elena could see that Stefan had actually managed to get to her. She saw Katherine lean forward until her lips almost touched Stefan's, as if to kiss him, but then she started whispering something, all the while looking up into his eyes.

Elena had no idea what she was saying, or what the younger Salvatore replied, but she did hear her finally announce, "Alright, Damon, since you were the one to bring it up, why don't you go and get us all that pizza?" She turned to smirk at him, and winked at Elena. Elena knew that the doppelgänger was playing with them. Of course she was.

Katherine knew Damon wouldn't want to leave Elena. She also knew that Damon was a hothead, and she knew that Damon had a special relationship to almost everyone in the room. Including her. Getting him to go would mess with the most people, and most of all with him.

And she loved to mess with him.

"Ever heard of delivery?" Damon said as a way of declining, but Katherine just grinned at him.

"Ever heard of rising delivery fees? I'm not gonna pay a random delivery guy for something I can get myself."

"Right. Like you're gonna pay for the food." Damon rolled his eyes. But he regretted it instantly when Katherine gave Cade a sign and suddenly Elena was choking right next to him. Her lips turned purple as she was gasping for air.

Damon jumped up and tried to help her, as both he and Stefan and a very ashen Grayson Gilbert started screaming for Katherine and Cade to stop.

To their surprise the choking stopped immediately and Katherine started laughing.

"So, pizza?" She chirped, beaming. "Shoo shoo, Damon Salvatore, your guests are starving - and we don't want anyone to die while you're gone, do we? Which is why dear Arcadius here will keep Ms. Gilbert extra close till you're back."

Damon got up and got in her face, but Cade shook his head, suddenly sitting right next to Elena, putting an arm around her shoulders. She tried to get away, but was frozen to the spot.

Could this day get any worse? Elena wondered. Her life was supposed to finally start for real after having woken up from her involuntary Kai-induced slumber. Instead, it was a horror show. She looked to Damon, terrified and so very upset, with no outlet for all her pent up anger and frustration and pain, and fear.

"I'm gonna find you and kill you if you so much as break one of her hairs off," Damon gritted out.

He was surprised to find Elena's dad step to his aid by saying, "This was not our deal, Katherine, if you hurt her again-"

"Geez. You all are no fun. Do you want this pizza or no?"

"I'll go," Stefan volunteered. "Let Elena go, Katherine. I'll get us food. But you need to let her go now."

"Always the wrong brother doing the wrong things." She sighed. "But fine. Cade, kindly step aside from our dear Elena here. Stefan can go and get the food. You got 30 minutes before I _will_ start hurting someone, and that might as well be your brother." She nodded to Cade, "Okay, lift the barrier so Stef here can leave. - Aaaand: go!"

Stefan glared at her. But he didn't say anything and sprinted out. He knew this was just a game to Katherine. He better hurried. Stupid freaking human bodies and their needs. - And that wasn't even taking Valerie and Caroline into consideration. He should try and get some bloodbags on the way, if there was time, otherwise the two vampires could become a threat to them all.

He was also worried that poor Valerie was still out cold. She was only there because of him, after all. That spell around the house was not to be messed with, that much was clear.

* * *

...

When Stefan got back with the pizza - barely in time - Katherine made them all come down to the dining area and sit there like "civilized people."

"Let's see… Elena, why don't you sit over there with sweet Damon, your dad can sit next to you. Oh," her grin turned gleeful,"then dear Bonnie may sit right there," she pointed to the two seats opposite, "so that her handsome date can chat with Grayson."

Bonnie's eyes shot daggers at her.

"No!" She said, but Enzo laid a hand on her arm and shook his head ever so slightly. He was worried about her, about what Katherine might do if Bonnie showed outright disobedience, and about what Bonnie might do to herself if she got riled up again.

Bonnie looked at him intently, then whispered, for only him to hear, "Are you sure?" And he gave her a stare and a nod as his sole answer before they both sat down opposite Elena, her dad, and Damon.

Damon raised his eyebrows at Enzo. At almost five in the morning, they all didn't look so fresh anymore, but his former Augustine vampire companion looked even worse than Damon himself did, and that was saying something since he had had a heart attack just a week ago.

Enzo made a face at him.

...

When they all finally ate their pizza in almost absolute quiet, except for Caroline, who had for some reason been allowed to stay upstairs with the sleeping twins, Katherine quickly got bored with them all, and she sat down at the table right next to Grayson Gilbert and his wife.

"Grayson, tell me a little about your plans when all this is over?" she said, but she wasn't looking at him so much than at Elena, Bonnie, and Enzo.

The girls glared at her. But Enzo stared at his paper plate and didn't grace her with his attention. He hadn't touched the food in front of him. Bonnie was worried about him. He had almost fallen asleep earlier, but then had made himself stay up. Again. He wouldn't be able to function much longer as the lack of sleep was catching up with him. She knew that the dreams were the reason he didn't want to sleep for long, and she hoped she'd find a way to make them stop, at least the ones with physical repercussions. Because his dreams were just that bad.

Being forced to sit at the same table as his tormentor didn't help matters, either. Bonnie knew it wouldn't take much for Enzo to finally snap under the current circumstances.

But of course, Katherine couldn't care less.

"Katherine, can we not do this now?" Grayson was saying under his breath; he sounded upset. "I thought you got what you wanted. Let me and my family go."

Damon suddenly snorted.

"Care to explain what's so funny?" Grayson addressed him, a mild annoyance visible on his face that couldn't quite mask the anger rising in him.

"Oh, I don't know, maybe that you apparently thought Katherine would honor whatever deal you struck with her? Because, I hate to break it to you, but that's just not who she is… She is Elena only in looks, Papa Gilbert. Deep down she's more like you." Damon pointed at the other man, grinning, but Grayson's expression was unreadable.

"I'm right here, Damon," Katherine chided, "you don't talk about people like they're not there. But I'll give you a pass. For old times' sake. And because I missed your snark a little here and there. Anyways, Grayson. I fully intent on honoring our deal, I'm just curious. The dynamics at this table are kind of…" she looked to Enzo, "tense?"

She smiled and made to touch Enzo's face with her hand when he stood up abruptly and grabbed her wrist, hard. His eyes flickered, but he didn't say anything. Bonnie gently implored him to let go.

"You should listen to your girlfriend, or I might reconsider being so…" she pretended to be searching for a word, _"friendly_ with all of you - I mean, Cade here could definitely drain young Bonnie's powers, if I told him to."

Enzo bristled, but did let go of her then. He couldn't risk endangering Bonnie's life, not even for his sense of pride, or righteousness, or honor. He slowly sat back down, catching Damon's eye. He shook his head at him, a small gesture that no one else noticed, just like Damon's half nod in reply.

Katherine stood up and bent down to where Bonnie was sitting. "I mean," she went on as if nothing had happened, "you know how it is, right, Bon Bon? It's so easy when you got a man wrapped around your little finger, they'll do everything you want. So, boys, if you don't play nice, I won't. - Anyways. Where were we? Right. Grayson, your plans?"

Elena's dad looked at her, uncomfortably. "When will you let us leave, Katherine?"

She rolled her eyes at him. "Oh my goodness. Fine. You tell me your plans and then you and your family can leave. Sans Damon, just so you know. _He's_ mine."

"I only want Miranda, Elena. And him." He pointed at Enzo, as everyone around him tensed.

It was like everything suddenly caught up with Enzo and his sleep deprived brain. Grayson freaking Gilbert thought he could make deals involving _him_?! No way in hell was he ever going to let that man take him anywhere again. Not as long as he still had any fight left in him.

And just like that, Enzo finally snapped. Without so much as a warning, he lunged across the table and grabbed Elena's dad by the throat, making the other man start to choke and sputter.

"Enzo!" Bonnie, Damon, and Elena yelled at the same time, but he ignored them all. He finally had that man by the jugular, _literally,_ and he was not willing to let go until Grayson Gilbert had breathed his last breath. The man's hands grappled for something to hold onto, he dug his fingers into Enzo's still sore arm, but Enzo didn't even flinch.

"Come on, man, you don't want to do this," Damon implored him, torn between aiding his friend and standing by his girlfriend - and thus her family. "Not in front of the girls. Enzo…"

"Damon. Don't," Enzo hissed, never taking his eyes off Grayson's. The man's struggle was dying down, but he was still alive, staring at Enzo with an unreadable expression, but with traces of fear.

It didn't feel satisfying. Enzo just felt strangely dead inside.

He sensed Bonnie beside him, and she was true to her word. She didn't try to interfere, and he was so overwhelmingly grateful, even in that moment, that he had found her. Someone to truly stand by his side. Someone to question him, challenge him, yes, but someone that was in his corner when it really mattered. And right then it was such a moment.

She and Elena had locked gazes, almost as if an inner conversation was going on between them.

"Please. Enzo… He's my dad," Elena eventually addressed him, crying, while Damon had changed his approach to trying to keep Elena from witnessing what was happening and also making her petrified mother move.

"I'm sorry, Elena," Enzo allowed without looking at her, but he wasn't going to stop. He couldn't. It was an inner force that drove him, and while he didn't want to cause her pain, he simply could not give this up.

From the corner of his eye, he saw Damon try to usher a flailing Elena away, while he also dragged a frozen Miranda back with him. Then all he heard was a loud noise and he felt an immense power tear him away. Then he was falling, falling, filled with pain, until everything went black.

* * *

...

It was as if everyone had forgotten about her for a bit there. She didn't like being ignored for some random personal feud, or whatever the hell Grayson Gilbert had gotten himself into. Seriously. What were these people thinking, busying themselves with their own trivial problems instead of _her?!_

She gave Cade a sign, weary, and yawned. "Stop this," she said. And it was kind of meant for all of them. "Enough!"

With an invisible force Grayson and Enzo were separated and Enzo flew far into the wall, then slumped down, unconscious, before he even knew what had happened.

"Enzo!" Bonnie screamed. She wanted to run to him, but something held her in place. Something seemed to bore into her mind, her powers. She felt blood run down her nose. Again. No...

Cade winked at her, cocking his head as if to challenge her to a fight. It was him, then, Bonnie figured, who rooted her to the spot. She needed to fight this, she needed to come up with a spell, something to use against him. She looked at her friends, at Enzo's slumped form, at Elena's dad, at Katherine. It felt like so much depended on her; and her mind blanked.

...

Grayson had been left falling to his knees, clutching his neck and wheezing for much needed air.

Elena had yelled out, Stefan had screamed at Katherine to stop, and Damon was holding his girlfriend in his arms, all frozen on the spot by Cade's magic.

That heretic was still unconscious on the couch, the professor as useless and absent as ever, Elena's mom was hysterical, Grayson's boytoy was out cold, and Katherine was finally the center of attention again. "Good," she said, "much better."

She walked slowly over to Grayson and extended a hand to help him up.

"Like I said," she told him as he stared at her wide eyed, "You can have that one."

She pointed at Enzo with a flick of her free hand, noticing how the Bennett witch fought harder against her invisible bounds upon seeing that. She grinned at the girl.

"Sorry, Bon Bon. I know you like him. But, a promise is a promise. Grayson here helped me tremendously a while back, and I kind of really want to reward him for that." She smiled. "Besides, I have no use for your boyfriend here. What _do_ you want him for, anyway, Gray? If you don't mind my asking."

Bonnie was ready to run amok. This was not going to happen. Katherine thought she could just let Grayson Gilbert leave with Enzo?! Out of the corner of her eye she suddenly noticed the latter get back up again, slowly, and unnoticed by anyone else. She was ready to start crying in earnest, this time with relief.

"It doesn't matter because I won't be going anywhere with him," Enzo muttered when he suddenly appeared right behind Katherine and put his hands around her neck. "Tell your _…henchman_ over there to get out of Bonnie's head, and let everyone go, or you'll be the one to die here first."

Katherine laughed. A bright happy sound, that starkly contrasted with the whole situation. "No, _Lorenzo,"_ she whispered his name, almost like a verbalized caress, "as a matter of fact I happen to know that you'll now willingly go with Grayson over there. You'll help him get Elena to his car, while Damon will politely wait here, with his brother, with me… and none of you will put up a fight. And why, you may ask… I tell you why." She turned in his grip, looking up. Her hair was falling down her back, her dress was sparkling in the dawning morning light, the first rays of sun, the last light of the moon. It was a special moment, long awaited.

Her eyes flickered with an inner fire.

"Girls!" She called, and suddenly the twins came hopping down the stairs, "It's time now. The big surprise. For mommy and daddy, right? Did you put mommy to sleep for a bit, like we talked about?"

The two young girls nodded, smiling. But then Josie noticed the dark atmosphere, the blood on Bonnie's face, and the angry man grabbing the princess, and she got scared. "Kathy?" She whispered, suddenly unsure, "Daddy?"

But Alaric was incapacitated by Cade's spell, he couldn't even talk. The look on his face was priceless, thought Katherine.

"It's alright, little ones," she said, "You will make this all better. Remember what I taught you?"

They nodded again, clutching each other now.

"Good. Then go ahead."

Cade looked at her, a question in his eyes that she answered with a wide smile. And then the girls walked closer, and closer, and they grabbed the surprised man's arms and began chanting a spell.

"No. Katherine! What-?!" Cade blurted out as he realized what was happening. She had betrayed him. He had gotten Katherine Pierce out of hell, he had helped her with these people, and she had betrayed him?

He was powerful, and strong, but he had also been battling Bonnie on a psychic plane for a while now and the little siphons had surprised him with their touch. He tried to shake them off, to fight them, but whatever they were doing, whatever spell they were chanting, it was too quick and efficient, and he couldn't… he just couldn't. No, he thought, this wasn't happening. It couldn't be. After all this time, to think two little girls would be his downfall...

He was slowly getting drained, until his skin stretched over his bones, and his bones started breaking. His body… it imploded in on itself without so much as a sound, but a burst of light that settled on Katherine, and as quickly as it had appeared, it vanished within her.

Then… an eerie silence encompassed everything.

Katherine gently took Enzo's hands and loosened his grip. She smiled at him mildly. He was unable to say or do anything, just like most everyone else. She told him sweetly, "You'll let me go now. You'll go with Grayson Gilbert, you'll help him get Elena to the car. You won't fight this, because if you do, if either you or Elena ever show up near Mystic Falls again, near these people, I'll kill your pretty girl." She looked over to where Elena was standing, addressing her, too. "And I'll kill Damon," she said.

It felt so good to be able to compel someone again. It felt good seeing the agitated pain in this man's eyes, and in her doppelgänger's. Katherine breathed in, then exhaled deeply.

"Nobody move," she said, raising a hand, then she concentrated on Elena's father. "A deal is a deal, Grayson," she told him, "Despite what Damon may have tried to make you believe, I will hold my end up. In return, you'll promise to keep your daughter as far away from here as possible. If she ever crosses my path again, she'll die. Is that clear?"

He nodded, shocked, but quickly started to walk over to Elena.

"Dad, I'm not leaving with you. Neither is Enzo." Elena hissed, clinging to Damon's arm.

"Sweetheart, I'm afraid that is not your decision to make," Grayson replied. He sounded somewhat regretful.

"What do you even want, dad?! Why are you back? Why did you make a plan with _her?!_ Couldn't you have just stayed dead?!" Tears were brimming in Elena's eyes, and her dad looked stricken.

"I just wanted you to be safe, sweetheart. That's the only reason I ever even made this deal!"

In the background, Katherine faked a yawn, then waved her hand in Enzo's direction.

"Get her out of here. And please be quick." She turned to face her doppelgänger. "And you: no fighting dear Enzo, or any of this. The rest of you will remain in this beautiful boarding house until Grayson and his dear little troupe have been gone at least two days."

She beamed at them all.

Then Enzo walked over to Elena, both visibly upset and glaring at Katherine. They were fully aware of the compulsion, which made it that much worse. Enzo exchanged a glance with Elena, mouthing an "I'm sorry" before hoisting her over his shoulder and proceeding to take her outside while Damon and Bonnie could only stand there, frozen, and watch.

Grayson Gilbert quickly got his wife, looking back to Katherine, but unable to say anything.

"Don't do that, Katherine." Stefan's attempt at persuading her sounded lame to his own ears. His brothers shot him a glance, raising an eyebrow as if to say, "Really?"

"Enzo!" Bonnie was crying.

"Don't look at her, handsome," Katherine ordered, and he had to do as she said. It was as if his heart was being slowly squeezed and crushed inside of him.

"Elena!" Damon yelled for her, but he couldn't move.

"Katherine, no!" Both Salvatores implored her, to no avail. "Stop this!"

"Aw, this is not a very happy family reunion, is it?" Katherine noted, putting on a fake sad pout.

Damon glared at her. He had had enough. "Stop this, Katherine. I get it. You wanted to have some fun. Good. You got it. Now tell us about your plan, your… your stupid revenge, and let's try to move on."

"Damon, Damon, Damon. Don't you see? I already got all I wanted," Katherine walked over to him, getting very close to his face. He flinched. "You're all gonna do exactly what I want from now on. I can compel each and everyone of you cute little humans, just like I did your friend right here. I got _all_ the power. I got immortality... - What you all just saw, was a transfer spell. A power transfer from poor old Arcadius over there to me. It wasn't easy to find that spell. It wasn't easy to bide my time and wait patiently for this day, with the sun and the moon up at the same time on the longest day of the year."

She sighed. There had been so many details to consider. She still couldn't quite believe that it had finally all worked out.

"It takes a lot of magic to make it work, but these two cuties right here did the trick." She waved over to the unsuspecting twins. How excited she'd been when Cade had first told her about them.

She beamed, kissing Damon forcefully on the mouth.

"Everyone: Say hi to your new queen of hell."

* * *

...

 _This one was not easy. I wrote myself into a corner a couple of times and had to find my way out. Hopefully this isn't too messy..._

 _Thank you, Anna, for the feedback. Yes, we will see more of Miranda's feelings at some point._

 _And thank you, 'Guest': I kinda liked season 8, too, but when episode 11 ended, I wasn't too happy. Bonnie and Enzo are my favorite couple of them all, even though they don't seem to be that well liked by many. :) I wish we'd gotten those stupid three years with lots of time to see their relationship actually develop._


	17. Lightning Crashes

...

 **Now**

...

When Tyler had found himself immobile and unable to do anything about it, just like the rest of them, he'd realized that he wasn't willing to deal with all of this again.

He hadn't really admitted it to himself before, and his dear friends apparently hadn't found anything off about it, either, but the way he got killed? It had been a suicide of sorts. Suicide by vampire.

After all, he was a werewolf. He was strong, he was deadly to vampires! But for some reason he'd chosen to succumb to life, or death, and let Damon Salvatore kill him. It was only fitting, seeing that he wasn't the only Lockwood family member Damon had killed.

This, to him, was over already. He felt a pang of guilt and regret for Matt, his best friend, who'd had to endure way too much for anyone to deal with. But he couldn't make himself stay for him, either. Sometimes, nothing was enough to keep you hanging on. Even if it should be.

With that thought in mind, he decided that the best way to help his friends was to sacrifice himself. Someone had to try and fight Katherine, even if it was probably going to be futile. Better it'd be him than any of the others, who all still had that spark of life in them that he somehow lacked.

Whatever had been resurrected and brought back from that hell place, it wasn't good. It wasn't who he wanted to be. This must have been what Vickie had felt like before…

Vickie. He had treated her like shit. He regretted that, too. He sighed. He closed his eyes, he flexed his muscles, the moon wasn't right, so he'd have to do it the old-fashioned way, and it was probably gonna end badly, but he didn't really care. At least that way he'd spare one of the others that fate.

So once the spell got lifted and turmoil ensued, Tyler waited for his opportunity. He had one chance. He better made it count.

Bonnie was a sobbing, heaving mess on the floor, with Stefan trying to console her, because Damon was too out of it to function and do anything other than scream at Katherine and tear apart the place. He was compelled to not go after her, but he tried to fight it, and it was obvious how that nearly broke him apart.

There was Caroline, cuddling her two babies close. Caroline, still as pretty as ever. Maybe if it had worked out better between them… But he couldn't allow those thoughts.

Ric was finally trying to usher them all out of the room. Because they were all free to go about the house now, as long as that didn't mean going after Elena and her family, and Enzo.

Stefan was trying to get Bonnie up, to no avail, so he focused on Valerie, instead, who was slowly starting to come to, now that the spell around the house had completely dissipated.

And Matt. Poor Matt was torn up again between all these people, Tyler heard him say something to him, asking if he was okay, and he automatically nodded, staring.

"I'll check on Bonnie," Matt announced, and Tyler started walking.

"You take care, Matt," he said, locking gazes with his friend one last time, and then...

He started running. Katherine was not paying attention to anyone other than Damon at the moment, Damon who threw a major tantrum, taunting her, cursing her, getting in her face, with Stefan shooting worried glances over in his direction, telling him to calm down.

When Stefan finally got up and rushed over to Damon, right before the older Salvatore would have had a decent opportunity to hit the self proclaimed queen of hell over the head with that same candle holder he'd been hit with earlier, Tyler made his move.

He was on her before anyone could say or do anything, before Katherine had time to try out her new powers. And he sunk the knife he'd always kept on him deep inside her neck. A startled look, a moment of triumph, absolute quiet, and after that, nothing for one blissful second.

Katherine had pressed a hand to her neck, but when she took it away, no blood marked it. She pulled the knife out with a swift movement of her hand, and the blade, too, was clean.

"Immortal, remember? Don't do that shit again. Anyone of you," was all she said, and she grinned and raised a hand.

"I had to try." Tyler shrugged. He didn't look defeated, and _that_ did take his opponent by surprise. She looked a little angry…

He didn't get to enjoy that look for very long, though, because right then he felt a huge force tug at him, a storm approach, as a hole opened right to his side, pulling him in.

This then, was oblivion. It was as if dark smoke blanketed everything, the voices of the people he'd spent his life with slowly got drowned out, the lights and colors dimmed, and only darkness remained, and with one last giant whoosh, he got sucked in, a startled look on his face the last thing anyone saw of him.

And Matt yelling his name the last thing he'd ever hear on that plane of existence...

* * *

...

For a long time it was awkwardly quiet in the car. It was as if whatever Katherine had done to them prevented them not only from fighting back, but also from talking. In the end it was Miranda who broke the silence. She'd sat in the passenger seat, next to her husband, shooting glances at him every so often, and checked on her daughter in the rear view mirror. They were all awfully quiet.

Elena hadn't looked at her father since the… incident at Damon's house. Miranda worried about her. She was also absolutely not comfortable with that strange man that had attacked her husband twice already sitting right next to her girl. Admittedly he didn't look like much of a threat. Ashen and silent, he sat there and stared out the side window, ignoring them all.

Miranda sighed. "Elena, honey," she started, and looked at her daughter's reflection in the rear view mirror. "I'm so sorry. This is all my fault. I should have listened to you and honored your wish. I… I really had no idea…"

She couldn't bring herself to say it. The whole idea was still so revolting. Her husband had made a deal with that devilish woman that was the spitting image of her daughter. He'd been in hell?! _They_ had been in hell?! He'd done atrocious things. Unspeakable things. Deep down, though, she had known he had a darkness inside him. She had just never thought he could have acted on any of it. She stopped herself right there.

"I'm so so sorry."

"It's alright, mom. I know you didn't know… You're not the one that needs to apologize. Dad does. And not just to me. But frankly, an apology wouldn't even begin to cut it."

"Goddammit, Elena!" Grayson unexpectedly exploded. He never cursed; and he never lost his countenance. Miranda looked at him in shock. Had she ever known this man, then? He gripped the steering wheel hard as he drove them through the countryside, farther and farther away from their home.

"When I first spotted Katherine in that… that _place_ , I thought it was _you_ , okay?" He explained with a resigned sigh. "I thought it was you…" He paused, thinking for a moment before looking at his daughter in the rearview mirror. "Can you even begin to imagine what that felt like? It was cruel! My baby, my flesh and blood, my beautiful daughter, in hell?! It was… torture!"

Enzo behind him snorted and rolled his eyes, but Grayson tried to ignore it. He was, however, acutely aware of Elena placing a hand on the former vampire's arm. It made him uncomfortable, to say the least.

"Of course I quickly realized it wasn't actually you. That it was Katherine Pierce. She told me a bit of her story, of how _you_ factored in; although she left many blanks and I never got the whole picture. I don't know what her exact reasons were, but Katherine made it very clear that she was going to… to _bust_ out of that hell sphere we were all trapped in, and, well, that she was going back to Mystic Falls and that whatever trick she was going to use meant that you couldn't be where she was. Something about the doppelgänger magic, it didn'quite make sense to me. But I was willing to take it at face value. I was willing to barter with her. My help in getting Arcadius to fall for her and open up a door for her out of that place, and she'd take me with her and allow you to live. I was to take you away. As far away as possible. Of course I said I'd do it. Elena… Call me a bad person all you want. I have no regrets. Because I'd do anything for you, honey. You're my baby girl!"

Yet again, Elena was left feeling helpless and torn. She recognized the father she'd known all her life. She felt love for him. Stupid stupid love. She couldn't help it. She wanted to hate him so bad. She really did. But…

The car was rumbling on the uneven road. It had started raining. She could see dark thunderclouds rising. She glanced over to where Enzo sat. Bonnie's Enzo. They were in this together. They were in this car against their wills, far away from their significant others, yet unable to do anything about it. It was like walking into the thunderstorm with their eyes wide open.

Her dad… he had done all this for her.

No. She shook her head and rubbed her eyes. She wished she could believe that, but it was not true. At least not completely. Because if he had only done all this for her, then why had he made Enzo part of his deal?

She looked to the side again, watching Enzo as he silently fought his own demons. She noticed his jaw muscles work, his clenched fists, the tension in his whole body. Suddenly, she saw him on that gurney again, next to her, and a darkness opened up inside of her.

Grayson Gilbert might have been a great dad. But he was a horrible human being.

* * *

...

* * *

[ _Three years ago..._ ]

...

It was shortly after he had left her, after that beautiful New Year's Eve surprise. After Bonnie had anticipated a kiss, maybe even more. But then he had left and she had slowly deflated.

She still wasn't sure whether she loved how gentlemanly he had behaved, or whether she hated him for toying with her like that. There _had_ been sexual tension, right? She hadn't just imagined it? It wasn't a one sided thing?

It had been a wonderful night. Unexpected, but wonderful. The lights, how he had listened to her, the flowers, the dancing; and gosh, if she didn't like a handsome man in a nice suit. (And yes, he _was_ handsome.)

...

Now here they were, discussing how to go on. He was telling her about his "cousin," the one they'd put in a mental institution. They had gone over it a million times. Bonnie had offered to go undercover and be placed there as well.

Enzo had been adamant about it being a stupid idea. He got so agitated whenever she brought it up again, but to her it seemed like the one thing they could do.

He was in the kitchen, busying himself with chopping herbs, getting dinner ready. She closed her eyes torn a moment, wondering when her life - their lives - had started to become so domestic, so homely? With a sigh she sat down opposite him, watching him for a while.

She had given up offering help. They both had quickly realized that she sucked at cooking and was prone to clumsiness which had at one time ended up in her almost cutting off her index finger. She flinched at the memory.

"I'm gonna do it," she informed him, and he looked up, for a moment out of the loop on what she was talking about. "Virginia," Bonnie explained, "I have a contact, a doctor, who'll get me in."

"Bonnie, I don't think this is the way…" He looked rather unhappy, and it was kinda… cute? What had he done to her, making her think he was cute… Bonnie bit her lip.

"It's alright. He'll get me in. He'll get me out again, too."

"I don't want you locked away in there. We don't even know how violent Virginia can get. All we have to go by is Alexandria's account, and, frankly, I don't trust her."

"I know."

He glanced at her, then turned away to pour pasta into a pot. She saw the tension in his body, but said nothing.

"I can't allow you to do it."

"Excuse me?" She scoffed. "You don't have to allow me anything. I'm perfectly capable of making my own decisions, thank you very much."

She was annoyed with him. He was still so patronizing at times. It really angered her. She was not helpless. She didn't need him.

"I know, love. You're a force to be reckoned with."

Always with that joking undertone; like everything was just a game to him. Bonnie rolled her eyes.

He was still facing the stove when he quietly added, "I know what it means to be locked up in a place with no way of getting out..."

Her features softened. Suddenly she understood.

"I won't be locked up. Not really. I'll just have to say the magic word and the doc will get me out, Enzo. It's just a ruse."

"I know," he allowed. "But nothing is fail safe. I…" He abruptly turned to face her, staring down at her, his eyes dark and full of a passion she had only had glimpses of before. "I don't want you in danger, Bonnie Bennett."

She smiled. She placed her hands on the countertop in front of her and slowly rose up to walk over to him.

"And I thank you for that, Lorenzo St. John. But I can take care of myself, and besides, I got you to watch out for me. Right?"

She was standing right in front of him then, glancing up, her smile wide. His features softened, and she found herself touching his shirt right above his heart.

"You smell good," she said. She'd meant the herbs, but somehow there was more to it. He did smell really good. And he _felt_ really good too.

The next thing she knew, she jumped up as he flung his arms around her, lifting her up for a kiss. Not gentle at all, but fierce. Strong. Passionate.

Ten they tumbled out of the kitchen and over to the couch, tugging and tearing off their clothes as they went…

She felt his hands in her hair, felt them travel down her spine as her teeth tugged at his lips. He tasted good, too. She wanted all of him, and she wanted it now.

When his fingers gently caressed the wetness between her legs, she moaned deeply, but quickly moved to grab him where he strained against her, hard and ready.

"I want you inside," she breathed and he smirked.

"Not into the slow approach?"

"Just not right now," she allowed before she kept him from continuing to talk by kissing him again. She didn't have to tell him twice.

...

When they were done, lying naked and intertwined on the couch, there was just the briefest moment of awkwardness. Enzo was playing with her hair absently where she was resting on his chest.

"This was... unexpected," he admitted, and she looked up to him curiously. He was quick to add, "But good."

He looked so cocky, even now, while her cheeks flushed with sudden embarrassment. Had she just thrown herself at him? She took a deep breath, readying herself for what she was about to admit.

"Was it?" She asked. "Because, honestly, I had already expected this to happen on New Year's Eve..."

Their gazes met, and she saw Enzo smirk at her.

"I wanted to," he allowed. "I just wasn't sure..."

"So I am to believe that Enzo St. John suddenly developed a gentleman complex?" She raised an eyebrow, but smiled.

He shook his head.

"Only when I really care about someone," he breathed, making her swallow a gasp. "Like you, Bonnie Bennett..."

* * *

...

* * *

...

Finding her brother hadn't been as easy as she had hoped, and eventually, he found _her._

Jo felt a horrible horrible fear upon seeing him approach her, in the middle of the street, in bright daylight.

There was nothing left of Luke in him. Luke must have had moved on to a better place. That's what she told herself anyway.

"You know you're just back because of me, right?" were his first words to her, spoken with a smirk on his face. He was still all cocky attitude and boasting confidence.

"Kai…"

He raised his arms as if in surrender, "Don't look so scared, sister. I'm not here to hurt you. I may still need you?" It sounded like a question. "Did you hear, by the way: you are a mom now!"

She felt her neck crawl with fear. So he'd heard. And he was probably back because of them, her girls.

"Congratulations! Let me give you a hug!" He swaggered over to her and just put his arms around her, lifting her off the floor a tiny bit. She was wary, but didn't want to put up a fight just yet.

"I need you to help me," she finally managed, and he raised an eyebrow at her.

"Oh? For real? My help? Ah, this should be good. Come on, walk with me a bit, sis. Strolling through this town will be like walking down memory lane. A nice little moment between siblings." He squeezed her against him as they started walking. "Help, you said? Please go on…"

She inhaled deeply, keeping the air in her lungs a while. Was this really a good idea? Was she just playing into whatever he wanted to do here to begin with?

"It's Katherine. You know her, right? Katherine Pierce. She's back and she… I don't know what exactly she's up to but she's been hanging out at the Salvatore's house."

"Salvatore! Is Damon there?" Kai interrupted. He sounded genuinely happy.

"They're all there. Damon, Stefan… the - my girls. Alaric… They are trapped. She won't let them out. She's… she's very powerful now, Kai. Full of magic. I need you to help me get my girls, my family, out of there. In return, you'll get all her magic to siphon off."

"Huh." Kai scrunched up his face, thinking.

Jo tried to gauge what could be going on inside of him, but she had no idea. Was he tempted? He was so power-hungry after all, it was her one incentive to get him to help her. She could only hope he'd go for it.

"Trapped, you say? Like prisoners?" he asked, and she nodded. "Bonnie, too? Bonnie Bennett?"

"Yes…"

He beamed. "Okay, I'm sold. Let's go over there now, shall we?"

This was going too fast, too easy. Why was he so eager to help? Was she falling into a trap?

"We don't even have a plan yet, Kai. Shouldn't we… I mean…"

"What else is there to plan, sis? We'll go over there, I'll siphon off all of Katherine's precious magic. You take your girls - and daddy. And I get the rest. Deal?"

She stared at him. He was planning something of his own, she knew it. She knew she couldn't trust him. But all she wanted was her family. It would be so easy to get rid of her awkward family constellation at the same time, once and for all. So easy...

"I'll need Caroline, too, she's in there with them, she's part of my family now, too." She surprised herself. It was out before she could think it to the end.

He pouted a little, but said, "Okay. Caroline, too. The rest are mine, though!"

She gave him one last nod, and just like that they went on their way, walking all the way over to the Salvatore house.

* * *

 **Eight months later...**

...

"You know. Sleep is a fascinating bodily need, is it not? We live so little of our lives actually conscious."

He had donned his white lab coat, and was now putting on his gloves. Sometimes he wondered why he even bothered. It didn't really matter whether he was sterile or not. It could actually add some pleasure if he got the subject exposed to more germs, bacteria, pain. Pain was always good.

But that wasn't him. That wasn't Dr. Grayson Gilbert. No. He was a stickler for details and he wanted to keep up the appearance of a good doctor. If only for his own sake.

Nobody else cared.

But he wasn't there for any invasive procedures today anyways. Yet. He just wanted to check the subject's vitals, see how he was doing after week nineteen of sleep deprivation.

They'd put him on one of the examination tables, fixated his arms and legs, a band across the chest and neck. He couldn't move much. Vervain made the material they'd used toxic to the subject's skin, and it looked raw and burned in places.

Grayson had to suppress the urge to clean off the dead flakes of skin to make it look smoother. It was one of his pet peeves. But he was not to mess more with the subject than necessary. Not today. This was all about sleep.

The subject had his eyes closed. It was understandable. The moment of examination was the only time they turned off the loud music and stopped the electric shocks, and the cold water, and the glaring flickering lights.

The body simply took what it craved, even if it only lasted a minute.

The tests were over quickly; Grayson took his headphones and looked up to the window gallery, where his colleague was waiting to turn the music back on. Grayson showed him five fingers. The other man nodded back.

Five minutes to talk with the subject.

He touched the man's shoulder. He was still out. Another nod to the colleague, and they shocked him. His body jolted off the table. A flicker of eyelids. He was awake again.

"Hello, Enzo."

The subject turned his head away from Grayson. Even after all this time, he still tried to fight against his bounds. On one wrist, Grayson could actually see the bone peeking through. He sighed.

"This is almost over. Just one more week. To make it an even ten weeks of sleep deprivation as a human, ten weeks as a vampire…"

Grayson waited. Would the man show a reaction at this point? But he was disappointed. There was nothing.

He sighed, then continued, "A week more, that's nothing in the grand scheme of things, right? This particular study has helped us tremendously with a project regarding counterintelligence that was funded by the CIA. The CIA, Enzo! We've come a long way since our beginnings, haven't we? And you've been a big part of that."

He wasn't sure the subject was even listening, but he went on anyways. He needed to let it out somewhere, or it would consume him; and as sad as it was, the subject was the only one he could talk to about this. His own wife and daughter, he couldn't bring any of this home to them.

"I'm grateful that we got to rebuild the Society. I'm grateful Katherine gave me that. She knew I just needed one starting point and that it couldn't just be anywhere, and not with just anyone. It had to be with _you._ "

Still no reaction. But Grayson didn't mind. He wondered what Enzo must be thinking. He'd tried so hard to fight, just like Elena… But in the end whatever Katherine had done to their minds had been stronger. It had been so easy for Grayson to chain Enzo up again. And Elena… well.

"Elena's adjusted well, under the circumstances," he recounted and laughed a humorless laugh. "I think I finally got her to understand the severity of the situation. Why I had to do what I did. She hasn't been crying as much anymore. She stopped going on about Damon, about how he will find her and come get her, 'save her.' She stopped asking about you." He lifted up his headphones. It was time. "Honestly, I miss the good old days when she was dating young Matt Donovan. He was good for her. He was _human_. With him, she would have never gone down that path…" He trailed off for a moment, lost in thought. "Anyways. I'll let you enjoy the music now, and we will talk again in a week."

As he put his headphones on, he nodded up to the other man and the music started back up. Then the lightshow. Grayson suddenly felt strangely numb inside. This used to give him so much excitement. So much energy, so much exhilaration.

He was looking forward for this to end in a week, too. He didn't like working for people who funded them. It restricted his work too much. He couldn't follow his needs as much. He shook his head, fighting off his demons. Those had to stay here, too.

It was time to head home, to go see Miranda and Elena, enjoy the peace with them; and maybe take them both out to dinner.

Italian sounded good.


	18. Letting the cables sleep

...

 **Now**

...

Damon was going stir crazy. Truly and absolutely stir crazy.

After having been trapped inside the house with Katherine for a week, without any news about Elena and no way for him to escape and get her, he was about ready to go ballistic. Admittedly, he pretty much did that on a daily basis, with only Stefan being able to sometimes calm him down.

This just couldn't be happening. Katherine taunting him all day, going out and about as she pleased while they had to stay behind, with nothing to do but wait for her return. He had entirely too much time to think about Elena. She was with her family, yes. But that was no consolation. After all, her father was a freakin' torturer. That man looked so harmless. Yet Damon didn't trust him to keep Elena safe.

It was time to do something.

"Bon. Any success?" he asked as he walked over to where she sat, on the floor, in the kitchen, the last spot she and Enzo had been together alone.

She looked up only briefly to acknowledge him, then concentrated back on whatever she was doing. She had tried to explain it to him. Something about that other plane of existence, where she had met her Grams. She was trying to use it to contact Enzo, and through him, Elena, too. Thanks to Katherine's doing, the two were bound to stay with Grayson, which at least also meant they were together.

It gave Damon a strange sense of relief. While he and Enzo had had their troubles, they had always worked it out in the end. Granted, that was mostly thanks to Enzo… Damon smirked to himself, it was not an expression of joy. He wasn't sure he could have forgiven what Enzo had forgiven him. The Englishman was the better man at heart. He was glad, then, that Bonnie had gotten the good kind of "bad" guy.

"Bonnie, come on. Anything?" He was impatient. She gave him a sign to wait, but he didn't want to friggin' wait anymore. "Bon." He drew her name out.

Exasperatedly, she stared up at him. "My goodness, Damon. When will you ever learn to be a little patient?!"

"Never? - Bon. She'll be back any minute. I just need to hear you tell me you found them, or at least, I don't know how this works, 'talked' to them? Give me something. Anything."

"How many times do I have to explain this to you? Katherine put a spell on them. I can't find their location. It's… honestly, I don't even know why she's doing all this. She-"

"To be free of Klaus, finally, and forever." Stefan had entered the kitchen. He was standing close to the doorway, arms folded in front of him.

"Of course Mr. Loverboy here would understand our queen b," Damon taunted, and earned himself a glare. "What? You seem awfully close with her lately. What does Caroline think about that?"

Stefan shrugged. He knew Damon wanted to get under his skin; and he hated to admit that it worked. Caroline was a sore subject. They were all trapped under the same roof, but Caroline was busy trying to make this as easy for her girls as possible and played family with Alaric. There wasn't much time for Stefan in that equation.

He'd turned to Katherine because he wanted to persuade her to finally let them all go. He couldn't deny that he still had sympathy for her. Understanding. But first and foremost, he wanted to watch out for his brother, for his friends. Damon needed Elena. Bonnie needed Enzo.

And Stefan? He didn't know what he needed. It definitely wasn't this.

"Cut it out, Damon."

"I'm just saying…"

Stefan was ready to start an actual fight. Fuses were getting shorter and shorter under the circumstances, and his was no exception. His tolerance for bullshit was nonexistent. But just when he opened his mouth, Bonnie suddenly whispered, "Enzo?"

Both brothers looked at her. She was sitting with her eyes closed, and she was smiling.

…

There was a haze over everything. She had difficulty seeing clearly, but the more she concentrated, the better it got. It was definitely him. Her Enzo.

"Hello, love."

Those must have been her favorite words. She saw his lips curl into a small smile as his features softened.

"Enzo," she whispered. And she ran. She ran until she reached him and he pulled her in for a hug. She clawed the back of his shirt with her hands, just breathing him in for a moment, burying herself against him. Finally, they separated enough for her to touch his face, to really look at him. And to kiss him.

"Bon?"

Damon's voice sounded far away. But it reminded her that she wasn't really here, and that she needed to hurry.

"Are you okay?" She wanted to know, and he nodded. She sighed, relieved. "Elena?"

"She's hanging in there."

"I can't stay very long, Enzo. Just… we are looking for you. We will find you two and we will bring you home. I'll try to contact you again, babe. I love you."

"I love _you_ , Bonnie. Whatever happens, know that because of you it was all worth it."

She felt her heart clench. It sounded like a goodbye of sorts.

"Don't give up. Please. I'll come for you. I'll come."

His smile was the last thing she saw. His beautiful smile, his dark eyes. Then she emerged again and found herself back in the Salvatore kitchen.

"You were with him?" Stefan asked, but Damon pushed past him, and got down on his knees, very close to Bonnie. "What did he say?" he interrogated her, "Is Elena okay? Was she there, too?"

She gave him a sympathetic smile. She knew how he felt, and she hated to disappoint him. She touched his cheek. "I didn't see her, no. But Enzo said she's… hanging in there."

He hung his head, she saw him close his eyes. She could see it battling inside of him, he was a loose cannon these days, he might very well lash out. Instead, he sighed and slowly got up.

"It's time we do something. Katherine needs to-"

"Do tell, Damon. What should I do?"

She was back. Wearing Elena's short black dress. And Damon hated her even more for that. She was playing her stupid games with him. But not anymore, he was ready to-

He couldn't finish his thought, couldn't start doing anything, because right then a loud _boom_ shook the house, startling them all, and Kai strolled in, with a happy half wave.

"Sorry to interrupt," he said cheerfully, "but I heard dear Katherine was in town and I just _had_ to come by to… oh, hi, Bonnie! It's sooo good to see you."

Bonnie glared at him, Katherine stared, and Kai continued smiling.

* * *

...

They had all heard the loud sound. The twins had gotten scared, but Alaric and Caroline did their best to tell them that there was nothing to worry about. Again. It had become one of their standard things to say, and Caroline herself had grown tired of it. It didn't convince her. How then, should it convince her daughters?

A week had gone by without a sign from Jo, and she and Ric had started to believe that the girls had never actually seen her after all.

At first, they'd used the news about Jo to lift the mood in the big house, but with every day that passed, it sounded less likely that anyone was out there to help them.

Caroline had felt torn up between trying to be there for her girls, while at the same time helping a devastated Matt deal with his grief, and keep poor Bonnie from endangering herself by challenging Katherine. Everyone knew Bonnie didn't stand a chance against this new enhanced Katherine 2.0. But Bonnie was understandably also very upset.

Just like everyone else.

Except for Stefan. Ugh. The thought of him alone angered Caroline. He was getting a little too cozy with Elena's doppelgänger, and she didn't like it.

She'd stuck to the room she shared with Alaric and the girls, and had tried to make them believe it was just some kind of house camping event, and it all had semi worked to relax the girls, until that stupid booming noise disrupted her little story.

Wordlessly, she and Ric agreed that they'd all stay together, with her waiting right by the door, in case anyone decided to break in.

Still, they weren't prepared when suddenly a voice called from downstairs, asking them very politely to please come down.

"Uncle Kai is here, girls!" the voice went on, "please come on down so that I can finally meet you two little munchkins!"

Caroline looked to Alaric, alarmed. What should they do? They were ready to panic, but suddenly the girls told them, "It's okay, mommy, daddy. He's with mommy Jo."

"Ya? How do you girls know that?" Caroline whispered, grabbing her daughters' hands. They smiled at her.

"He showed us."

But there was no time for her to question any of that as right then, the door flew open and Kai appeared with Jo. Behind them, Caroline caught a glimpse of Katherine, who had wrapped her arms tightly around her waist and looked rather suspicious of the older Gemini twins.

"Hi girls!" Kai said and bent down on his knees next to where Caroline was still sitting with them. She wanted to snatch them away, but Kai shook his head. "Nuh uh, _mommy_ _Caroline_ ," he mocked, "we are all friends and family here, right?"

…

Something strange happened then. Those girls… Kai ran a hand each over their heads, and suddenly he felt something. Was that…?

He almost felt regret. Luke was not a part of him anymore, yet he knew he would not be able to hurt these girls. What was wrong with him? He looked over his shoulder to where Jo stood, and Katherine, then back to the twins. Their little honest smiles affected him strangely. He felt… sympathy. These little girls, they were like him. Siphons. In a world where no one understood them and could help them make sense of their powers, they would suffer like him, they would be abandoned and…

No. He couldn't let that happen.

For the first time in forever (or ever?) he felt concern for another human being. And he took responsibility. With a swift movement he turned around to an unsuspecting Katherine and grabbed her by the arms.

"What-" she let out and started to use her magic against him. But he only grinned.

"Sweetheart," he told her, "I'm a siphon. Your super awesome queen of hell or whatever magic doesn't work on me. In fact, I'll happily just absorb it."

And he did.

* * *

...

She had planned it all for so long. It had been painful at times. She had suffered, endured all sorts of horrors in oblivion, in hell. But in the end it had been worth it. Or so she had thought.

She had finally been out of hell and free from Klaus, from Arcadius. From any man. She had been ready to start her life anew. After all these years, she had finally just known this was it, her chance; and then that… that _man_ had to come and ruin it all.

Katherine tried to pry off his hands as her skin started to strangely glow under his touch, but something kept her from doing so.

It was as if the magic she conjured up inside of her was immediately sucked right out. And she had no way of holding onto it.

What did it matter if you were the strongest psychic immortal in the world when someone could just come and siphon it all up? It was not fair. She scrunched her face up involuntarily. Tears ran down her face. Shock, sorrow, sadness, regret; it all came washing over her. Because under Kai's fingers, the queen of hell turned back into Katherine Pierce, after having reigned not much more than a week.

* * *

…

Caroline couldn't believe this was happening. She felt so betrayed by Jo!

Kai?! How could she have asked _him_ to help with their girls? She of all people should know what bad news that man was. He'd killed her siblings before, then went on to kill her - and her daughters. _Their_ daughters.

Now he was here, in the same room as them, and whatever he did, it made a strange glow emanate from under his hands. He was siphoning. The only thing he knew how to do, and he did it well.

Everyone was suddenly there. People started yelling. Stefan was on his way toward Kai and Katherine, but Damon held him back.

"Damon, let me go. He'll kill her."

"And I honestly don't care if he does, brother," Damon hissed, tightening his grip on the younger. They were both angry, staring at each other.

"Damon," Stefan growled, but just when he made one last attempt to free himself, it was already over. Kai suddenly let go, a triumphant grin on his face. "That was fun," he stated, just as Katherine crumpled to the floor.

Damon looked half apologetically at his brother before letting him go to rush over to Katherine. Then he concentrated on their guest. He felt Bonnie's presence right beside him and he shot her a glance, then casually stepped in front of her, shielding her. She shouldn't get too close to that Parker bastard. He didn't want her to suffer a similar fate as Katherine.

"Bonnie!" Kai beamed. "It's been too long."

She shot a glare at him from behind Damon's shoulder.

"Not long enough," she muttered, and Damon felt her hand on his arm.

"Aw, come on. Didn't you miss me just a little bit?" He made a gesture with his hands, the distance from his thumb to index finger infinitesimal.

"What do you want, Kai?"

The siphon looked at her, then at the others, contemplating. He saw the two girls huddled behind their parents. Well, parents sans Jo. She was still standing off to the side, looking slightly… out of it?

"No thank you? Thank you, Kai, for freeing us of this horrible woman that imprisoned us and-"

"Thank you, Kai," Damon interrupted him, "really, truly thank you. But now I really gotta go and find my girl." He made to leave, but a movement of Kai's hand made him stop.

"Not so fast, Damon. Your girl? As in, Elena? The sleeping beauty?"

"Hate to disappoint, but she's not sleeping anymore." Damon was wary. There was always something Kai wanted. It was just not clear yet what that was and whether he'd be a better or worse opponent than Katherine. He knew he shouldn't get his hopes up, but for some reason he still did. Could it really get worse than an all powerful Katherine Pierce?

"Huh," Kai had said, honestly intrigued. "How did you manage to break my spell? It wasn't meant to be possible. No loopholes and all."

"Well, our dear Bon Bon has learned some pretty awesome tricks since you last saw her, so..."

Kai actually looked proud. As if this was his doing. "Bonnie Bennett!" he exclaimed. "Good for you! I always knew you were the one for me. Power attracts power, you know?"

"She's off the market," Damon off-handedly commented, pleased to see a flicker of hurt in the other man's eyes. Some things never changed.

Suddenly Bonnie touched his shoulder and very quietly muttered, "I still can't locate them. Something's wrong. Katherine's spell must still be working."

"Aw, didn't you know? Spells that hide someone's location are always bound to the ones they're supposed to keep hidden, not the one casting the spell," Kai explained, then pointed to his ears. "So sorry, I didn't mean to be eavesdropping. Sensitive hearing and all, I couldn't help it."

"Okay. Since you've been listening in, kindly do tell how we can find them then," Bonnie challenged him, but things weren't going to be that easy, of course she knew that.

"I'll try and help you," Kai said nonchalantly. "In return, I want to be a part of my nieces life, and I'm getting some hostile vibes off of these guys over here." He turned to look straight at Caroline and Alaric, then at his sister, who just sighed.

He beamed regardlessly. "It's gonna be so much fun, you guys! Us all as a team!"

Not surprisingly, he was the only one smiling.

* * *

...

Later, after Caroline had had a near breakdown, barely holding it together for her girls, she sat on the couch with Alaric, finally back at his place.

The twins were fast asleep, exhausted from the excitement of the last few days, and Caroline knew she was just going to go up there in a few minutes and lay with them.

Kai was back and he'd stolen his way into their lives, because of Jo.

"She tried to help," Ric said. But she could tell it was a halfhearted attempt to defend her.

"I know that, Ric, but I mean, Kai? The one who killed her? She should have known you can't trust him! Now we're left to deal with him. Ugh. I hate this. Everything has been such a mess ever since… you know, Bonnie's blast."

He nodded quietly and ran a hand through his hair. He'd done it a couple of times already.

"It's not like Bonnie had control over what she did. And apparently, her magic was corrupted right away by Cade and Katherine. Hard to say how things would have turned out without their meddling."

"We wouldn't be in this mess! Honestly, if Stefan hadn't killed Enzo, none of this would have happened. I'm just so mad at him!"

Alaric suddenly looked at her, understanding dawning. It was all about Stefan. "He was in ripper mode back then," he reminded her matter-of-factly.

"Still! It was just because of Enzo's death that Bonnie even had that… that _reaction_ which set everything off. And now _we_ have to pay the price! It's not fair!"

"You're mad because he's with Katherine." It was a statement. Alaric knew her too well.

After Kai had done his thing, Katherine hadn't just died. She had lost all her powers to him, yes. She was no longer immortal. But she was still alive, and human.

Just like Stefan…

They could be human together, Caroline didn't care. Well, she did. She was angry. When he'd told her that he felt sorry and responsible for Katherine - Katherine of all people - Caroline had snapped. She had yelled and thrown a fit. He was throwing all they had away for that woman? She had kept them as her prisoners and had wanted to ruin their lives! She was he one who was to blame for everything that was going wrong in their lives.

Caroline still remembered the look on his face. Torn, and sad, like he had battled with himself. How then, was this the outcome?

...

"You still love her," she had finally realized. "After all these years, after everything she's done. You and Damon… how she played with you… You _still_ love her."

She hadn't needed an answer, she had seen it plainly in his face.

"I'm sorry, Caroline. I know this is hard to understand…"

"Hard to understand, Stefan?" She had scoffed. But she had been too upset, too tired to fight. "What does Damon have to say about you and her?"

He'd given her a half smile. "He's angry," he allowed. "I don't blame him. That's why I'll be leaving. I can't do this to him. Or you."

"You're leaving?"

"I'm sorry, Caroline. You deserve better. I couldn't be who you needed me to be. I… I've made things worse for people for longer than I care to admit. It's time for me to leave."

"You're leaving." She had been so shocked. For some reason she hadn't expected that. She hadn't even really thought about how her life was going to go on with the twins and "uncle Kai" and Alaric. But she had never questioned that Stefan would be in it, despite everything, she had been sure he would be there, always.

"I'll always only be a phone call away if you need me…"

A phone call.

…

So here they were, trying to get normalcy back, while their friends were on a hunt for their loved ones, while their siphon girls were getting to know their creepy uncle Kai. While Caroline didn't know what to feel, or whether she could live as a family with Alaric. And Jo, who was just not herself anymore and who'd retreated into herself more and more with every new day.

Without Stefan.

But the worst part? The worst part was that she actually thought Kai was super cute with the girls.

* * *

...

 _Thanks Guest and deenew, for your feedback. Much appreciated._

 _deenew: no worries. After rushing this a bit (totally in style for TVD, though, right? lol) the next chapter should have more Enzo and Bonnie and hopefully an end to their separation as we'll be catching up on those eight months..._


	19. Call it dreaming

...

Eight months went by. It was an awfully long time to be without your partner, especially if you had been separated from her for over three years before that already.

They had only had so many weeks with each other, before Grayson Gilbert had taken Elena away from Damon again. But this time, he had a purpose. He was determined to find her, even if that meant tolerating and working with Malachai Parker.

He was not going to let himself go again. He was not going to do something stupid for once. Stefan was not around to pick up the pieces and keep him in check. But he didn't need Stefan.

He needed to be strong for Elena. And he was.

Granted, it may have all looked a little differently had it not been for their secret little dream connection.

Grudgingly, Damon had to admit that he had Kai to thank for that, since the obnoxious little douchebag had been the one to figure out how to use whatever power was making some of their dreams a little more lifelike than was desirable.

He had almost suffered another heart attack before that had happened, but thankfully he had gotten away with just a warning by his doctor this time.

"You need to avoid all stress, Mr. Salvatore. If you can't do that at home, I'll get you a spot in a rehab clinic," the doctor had offered, or rather threatened, and Damon had quickly assured him he'd be extra careful from now on.

Bonnie had been the one to get him to the hospital, and back. It had all happened within the first few weeks without Elena, without Enzo, and they had clung to each other like two drowning people clinging to a piece of driftwood.

If one of them went down, they both would.

But that hadn't happened. Instead, she brought him back to the Armory, where they had all started to hang out most of the time. With one noticeable exception. Matt Donovan.

Damon sighed as he thought about it. He had no clue what exactly had made him do it - it was probably because of Elena, like everything good he did - but he had offered Donovan to take care of the bar for him, be his manager, while Damon was busy searching for his girlfriend. The kid had actually agreed.

So here they had been, the few of them that worked together, and he had casually mentioned how he had had another one of "those dreams," when Kai had wanted to know more.

Damon had been hesitant to tell him anything, but had done it, anyways. Full disclosure. Anything and everything might help to get Elena back.

Kai had been fascinated. Dreams that came true! If only the outcome would have been a little nicer. But then he'd put his hands on Damon's head, Damon had tried to swat them away like annoying flies, but Kai had already been done with whatever it was he was doing.

"This is interesting," he had remarked. "A dream corruption spell. Works different for everyone. I'm assuming at some point in your lives, you and Enzo might have had a close connection. Similar experiences? Otherwise it'd be strange why the two of you seem to be the only two with that kind of repercussions."

Damon had glared at him. He was not going to share his Augustine time with Kai and give him fodder to mess with him later down the road.

"You could say that," was all he had admitted.

Kai had raised an eyebrow at him, but hadn't said anything to it. "Anyways," he'd gone on instead, "the good news is, I think I can use the power of the spell to help you guys make a connection. _If_ \- and this is a big if - Bonnie is willing to let me enter that psychic plane of hers."

She'd scrunched up her face and had said no. Just like that. No. It had taken Damon a while to persuade her to give it a chance.

"I know it's asking a lot," he'd agreed as she'd said that that was her safe space, her connection to her Grams - whenever she was lucky enough to see her - and a direct way into her mind. He had understood her reluctance, but if Kai said there was a chance to somehow see Elena, or have a "connection" to her, whatever that meant, then he had to give it a shot.

In the end, Bonnie had agreed. He had promised her he would be right there with her and protect her with his life if Kai should try anything.

But he hadn't. He had delved into Bonnie's mind for just a minute or two and had emerged with another happy grin, leaving Bonnie with a bloody nose and a headache and Damon angry and worried.

Kai's happiness was getting on Damon's last nerve.

"What did you do to her?!" He'd hissed.

"It's done," Kai had announced, matter-of-factly. "You should be able to communicate with them in a dream state."

Damon had been skeptical. "Just like that? We dream, we see them? No more almost dying?"

"No more dying, no. And yes. Technically it's that easy. I used Bonnie's psychic plane to make a connection. You'll be able to meet them there; but… sorry, Bonnie, I had to use up a little of your magic to get it done."

Kai had shrugged apologetically, then grinned. He could have used the giant amount of magic he had siphoned from Katherine, but instead he had stolen Bonnie's.

"Hey. I didn't steal it. Consider it payment for a huge favor."

Damon had stopped being so angry as soon as he saw Elena in his dreams the first time…

* * *

...

She looked so beautiful. So… _her_. It ached him to see her and know she was somewhere else. Yet here she was. She was running toward him, running until he caught her in his arms, whirling her around, kissing her.

"Damon, is this… this doesn't feel like a dream. Is Bonnie-"

"She and Kai did a thing," Damon muttered into her hair. But she shoved him away to see his face.

"Kai, as in Malachai Parker?!"

"Yup. That's the one," he replied, and explained what all had happened since she'd been forced to leave with her dad.

She had tried to explain to him where she was. But her dad wasn't stupid and kept her in the dark about a lot of things. Hiding her away. Keeping her and Enzo separated. It had only gotten worse from there.

Every tiny bit Elena told him, Damon would suck it all up and try to glean information about her whereabouts. He and Bonnie would sit and go over everything in the mornings. But Bonnie was becoming less and less available lately. Something was going on with Enzo, and his - and thus her - sleep patterns were getting more and more irregular, just when Damon had thought they were finally getting somewhere.

She'd mentioned a new motel. And something about it had sounded slightly familiar. She had talked about going out to get ice from the machine, like in the movies. Because it was hot. She said that her dad was getting a little more lax, allowing her or her mom to leave the places they stayed at for a couple of minutes every so often. She had slowly gotten him to trust her that she was over it all, over the 'past grievances' as he had called them, and ready to move on. There had been talk about getting an actual place. Which was good.

It meant they would finally stay in one spot. Maybe long enough for Bonnie to locate them. She had worked tirelessly on a spell with Kai. They just needed a little something to go off of and then...

It had taken eight friggin' months. But finally, Damon had real hope again.

That motel… the ice machine had had graffiti all over it. Elena had especially liked the tiny little Hello Kitty with a Joker grin that someone had drawn with red and black marker.

Damon knew who that "artist" had been.

* * *

...

While she was still angry with Kai for stealing her magic, Bonnie was secretly relieved he had given her this: a chance to see Enzo, a chance to touch him and feel him as if he was really with her, and that on a daily basis.

It was not like what she had had before, where it had taken her forever to see him for just a few minutes and then she had not been able to do it again. No. This was more stable, and it was worth all her magic. She would do it a hundred times over if she had to.

At first, he had just looked pale and tired, like the last time she had seen him, back at the Salvatore home. That had slowly gotten worse. She had wanted to know what was going on, but he had been reluctant to tell her. She couldn't let it go, though.

"I'm here for you, babe. Please, please let me help you somehow. Let me be there for you," she'd urged him. Begged.

He'd looked at her with his clear eyes, so sad, so… pained, and whispered, barely more than a rasp, "He's rebuilding the Society. With me. I can't…" He had taken a deep breath, looking away. "Katherine made it so I can't fight anything he does."

Freaking Katherine. Bonnie had bristled at the mere mention of that name. She had felt so powerless, so upset for him. She had clung to him even more as he had continued.

"There's always someone messing with me, huh? I'm just so fucking powerless that I had to let him chain me up again. I could not fight. And there he's just grinning and so pleased with himself." He had paused and looked at her. He'd wiped away the tears she hadn't been able to keep at bay.

"I'll find you, Enzo. I'll get you out."

He'd tried to smile, but it had looked so broken. "I can't do this again, Bonnie. Seventy years… I can't..."

She'd needed to give him something, something to lift him up. She'd been worried whether it was the right thing. Whether he'd be happy at all.

"You won't have to," she had said. "I _will_ find you, and I will reverse that spell. I need you babe, and…" she had bit her lip, then put her hands against his chest. She had felt his heart beat. "You're gonna be a dad, Enzo. We'll… we'll have a baby."

She had felt his heartbeat start picking up, she'd seen the surprise in his eyes, a smile had spread from the corner of his mouths and -

He'd been pulled out of their conversation then, unable to say anything, and she hadn't even been able to give him a hug.

The next time they had spoken, he had been so incredulous and so very excited about the news. But other than that he had looked tired and withdrawn. Every consecutive time, it had gotten worse; until at some point, he had told her that they had started experimenting with sleep deprivation and he wasn't sure how often he'd even be able to see her anymore.

It was all to do with a whole slew of "experiments" - their euphemism for torture - and there was a twist.

…

Before he had told her, he had looked more broken than she had ever seen him. She'd been terrified for him, for his mental health, and for his life all this time, but that moment, she had panicked.

"What is it, babe? What's going on? What did they do to you?" She had asked, because she couldn't keep it in. She was too worried.

He had remained quiet for a long time. She'd seen his throat work, his jaw muscles, as he had clenched and unclenched his teeth.

"Enzo… you can tell me anything. You know that, right?" She had wanted to make sure… she remembered how it had eaten at him what he and Damon had done while under the spell of the siren. And the other things he'd done in his life, as a vampire. Maybe they were forcing him to do things, bad things, to others. "I won't leave you. Ever," she had said again.

"I'm… not human anymore," he'd eventually breathed, and she hadn't quite understood at first. Not looking at her, he'd continued, "They turned me into a vampire again. To compare certain reactions." He'd paused. "And because that way they can go further without fearing I die..."

Her heart had broken for him then. To think what he'd suffered through, it was unbearable. She needed to get him out of there.

"I know this is not what you wanted, love," he'd told her, tears in his eyes. "You've sacrificed so much. So many times. - I wanted to be human for you. I wanted to give you at least that: a normal happy human life. And our baby… But now I can't do that anymore. I'm so sorry."

She'd held him then, and whispered reassurances. "All I want is to be with you, Enzo. I did dream about us living together happily as humans, yes. But the part that matters is the _together_ , babe. And we will get that. We will…"

Still, she had cried when she had woken up, alone. For his sake. And for hers.

...

From then on, their "meetings" had gotten more and more sporadic, much shorter. But always full of love.

At some point, she had asked him whether he wanted to try and turn his humanity off.

She couldn't bear for him to endure so much pain.

"I'll bring you back. I did it before, I could do it again," she'd promised.

But he had looked at her intently for a long moment, then explained, "I've gone years without doing that, love. Because you can't hang on if you got nothing to live for. - I got you, Bonnie Bennett. Without my humanity, without _you_ I would not be able to hang on anymore. You keep me going; you and our baby."

She hadn't asked again.

…

The last time she had seen him, he hadn't spoken at all. Only a small smile had crossed his lips and she had felt his soft touch against her stomach.

"We're on our way," she had informed him. "Damon went with Alaric to get you and Elena. We think we finally know where you are. And Kai and I are so close to breaking the spell!"

And then the dream had abruptly ended.

* * *

...

When they had found Elena, Damon had gotten his second epic moment with her. He'd called out for her as soon as their car had stopped at the motel parking lot.

And she had come running. Wearing just an old pair of jeans and a pretty shapeless crew neck t-shirt, she'd still been the most gorgeous woman, the most beautiful sight he'd ever seen.

They'd hugged, they'd kissed, embarrassing Alaric a little bit, and later her mom, who had at some point quietly poked her head out the door. But he didn't care. Neither did she. This time, it was all about the here and now, and them.

But every moment had to end…

Elena had told him about her dad being away often, and that she had no idea where the new Society was located, and where Enzo was kept. They hadn't seen each other in months.

Damon had pressed his lips together, fighting the urge to hit something, break something. They had to find Enzo. Soon.

He knew he would have to call Bonnie, but he really really didn't want to. She was 37 weeks pregnant and he honestly worried that any bad news might bring on contractions.

A pregnancy should be a happy event in a couple's life, but poor Bonnie had to go through it all alone while shouldering the worry about her baby's dad, and trying too hard to reverse Katherine's obedience spell. As if that wasn't bad enough already, she had to work with a man that had made her life hell for a long time at some point.

Damon was right, of course. Bonnie was desperately upset. She had told him she would come out there to help find Enzo, but he had pretty much forbidden her to come. He'd argued that Enzo wouldn't want her in danger and that he was acting as both her and Enzo's best friend so he had to keep her safe.

When he'd finally hung up, Alaric was already on his way to get Elena's dad. She'd told them that he worked at the local hospital - his day job - and the men had silently agreed it best that Elena didn't come with, because Alaric was prepared to use all means possible to get the location of the Augustine Society out of him.

Damon had wanted to come, but Alaric had thought it best that he kept his distance.

"Elena will need you on her side, Damon," he'd told him, "You can't be the one to do to her dad what might be necessary. Because despite everything, Grayson is still her dad."

"She'll need _you_ to get through this all, too, Ric. I mean, you guys pretty much played family at one point. What if she feels betrayed by _you?_ " Damon had argued.

But Ric had smiled at him.

"Damon. Sometimes you gotta do things for your family to keep them safe that might be tough and that might alienate you from them. Better it be me than you."

And with that he'd sat back in the car and driven off, leaving Damon to go back inside the motel room to help Elena and her mom pack up and leave.

Ric was to call him as soon as he knew where Enzo was, and Damon impatiently waited for some news. He was not good at waiting around.

* * *

...

The hospital was pretty ordinary. For some reason, Alaric had anticipated something a little different. Creepier. But this was a normal hospital. And why wouldn't it be? It was not a part of the Augustine Society, it was really just a typical clinic.

He chuckled to himself. The stress must have been catching up with him. Dealing with his dysfunctional patchwork family and at the same time helping Damon and Bonnie was probably taking its toll. He saw the bad and the supernatural in every corner lately.

Right now, though, he had to focus on finding Dr. Gilbert, before the man got wind of the fact that they had already found Elena and her mom.

Being able to hug Elena earlier had felt ridiculously relieving. Like a daughter coming home after a very long time - which kind of was the case…

"Excuse me," he said upon finding the first person that looked like they worked there, "I'm looking for Dr. Grayson Gilbert?" He started reciting the elaborate story he'd come up with to persuade people that Gilbert was his wife's physician, but the woman didn't even care.

She raised a hand to stop him after just a few words. She checked her pager and didn't even look at him when she said, "Third floor, to the left. doctors' lounge." And off she went.

Well, that was easy.

He got there after just a few more minutes and knocked lightly on the half open door before entering. Better not give the man a chance to run for it. But he also didn't want to scare any oblivious innocents.

The room was almost completely empty. Only two chairs were occupied, one by Grayson Gilbert, the other by an older white haired man. "Can I help you?" The man asked. Elena's dad didn't even look up.

"I'm here to speak with Dr. Gilbert." Alaric decided to go the direct route. Now he'd gotten Grayson's attention. He had probably recognized his voice. He rose up so quickly that his chair almost fell back, but he caught it with a swift movement of his arm. Good reflexes. Ric hoped he wouldn't have to fight the man, but chances were dim.

"What are you doing here?" Grayson asked rather unfriendly, then turned to his colleague, "Roger, can you give us the room for a moment?"

"Are you sure?" Roger must have sensed Alaric's hostility, but Grayson nodded and the man left anyways, with a few distinct glares in Ric's direction.

"What are you doing here?" Grayson repeated. Alaric walked over toward him, slowly.

"I'm sure you've guessed by now. I'm here to bring our friends back. We already got Elena." He saw her father react ever so slightly. He couldn't quite rein in his shock and anger at the news. Good, Alaric thought. "And now you'll tell me where Enzo is."

They were both silently assessing each other for a long moment; Alaric wished he knew what the other man was thinking. When Grayson wasn't forthcoming with any information, Alaric lightly tapped the gun he'd hidden under his jacket, in his belt. He'd dealt with many a threat and had used many a weapon. A run-of-the-mill revolver wasn't usually something he used, but it was perfect for a human.

"I'll give you Enzo in exchange for my daughter," Grayson said, but Alaric shook his head.

"Not how this is gonna work," he informed his opponent. He wasn't here to barter. Grayson seemed to weigh his options, he shot a glance at the door, but Ric shook his head again. "You can't get out without me shooting you first. And trust me, I will. I want an address. And you'll be coming with me. - If you want a chance to see Elena and your wife again, you'll do as I say."

Grayson Gilbert was many things, but certainly not stupid. His only chance was to give Professor Saltzman what he needed - or make him believe that that was what he was doing - and then try to use a moment of surprise to his advantage.

In the end he therefore just sighed and gave him the address. Even though there was no chance for him to warn his associates there, or take any precautions. He had to go with it.

He knew the professor wouldn't hurt Elena. But he also knew that he'd go through with his threat to keep her away from him forever. He wasn't ready yet to let that happen. Not after he'd already missed so much of her life. She was the reason he did all this. Protect the world, make it a better place. For her. For Jeremy, too. And one day, his grandchildren.

* * *

...

"I hope you tied him up real good. Ricky-boy," Damon spoke into his phone while driving and barely heard Alaric's "Who do you think I am? Of course I did" through the rain and rumbling of the road.

He'd hotwired an old Mustang at the motel parking lot. Elena had pointed out the nice big van right next to it, but he'd scrunched up his face and given her a disgusted "nuh." A Salvatore didn't ride in a soccer mom car.

"Principles," he'd told her and she'd shaken her head. But he'd gotten a smile out of her, and that, in turn had made him smile.

It was just _so_ good to have her back. After Bonnie had told him that she and Kai had finally just managed to break the spell, they had been free to go without any danger of Elena being forced to go back to her dad. And just in time, too, because Alaric had told him the address to Elena's dad's secret Society.

So they were now all on their way there. Alaric had wanted Damon to stay away, keep Elena safe. But Damon also had Bonnie to look out for. And deep down, hidden away for most of the time, sat a guilt he still had to pay off to Enzo.

This time, he wasn't going to leave his friend behind. But he also wouldn't leave Elena alone.

* * *

...

The building they found at their destination didn't look anything like the Whitmore place had looked back then. It was a boring 1960's style office building, a few stories high - but likely also at least one or two stories deep. They'd parked their car a little out of sight, in case they'd need it later, as back up. Alaric's vehicle was already parked right in front of the building, not even trying to be inconspicuous, because chances were Enzo wasn't exactly up to walking a long way, and with them all being human, there was no way they'd be able to carry him very far.

They had to make it out. That was all. They had no idea how many people worked with Elena's dad, and he hadn't volunteered any information in that regard. Alaric had apparently hit him over the head in frustration at some point, and knocked him out - but Damon had kept that information from Elena. She didn't need to know that.

It was all so easy. After everything he'd expected something a little more challenging. But there was no one in the foyer, just empty hallways left and right. Elena was right by his side. He had considered having her wait in the car, but he needed her in sight, and so he'd opted to take her with him instead. She probably would have put up a fight otherwise anyway. A fight he'd probably have lost.

Finally he saw Ric, who was holding Grayson Gilbert by the arm. Elena flinched when they were closer.

"Are you alright, sweetheart?" Grayson asked, sincerely concerned, but Elena backed away from him, into Damon's arms.

"Am I _alright_?! No, I'm not, dad. You kidnapped me and held me hostage for eight months."

"Elena," he tried, but she wasn't listening and spoke over him, "but at least I'm back with my boyfriend now. - And what is _this_? You really started all this again?"

She was furious, and so very hurt. Damon tightened his grip on her, to give her a tiny bit of comfort.

"I had to, Elena," Mr. Gilbert tried, "You'll one day understand that. This is all so much bigger than just us-"

" _I_ think this is just a super creepy obsession with poor Enzo that you've got going there," Damon interrupted, sparing Elena having to reply, "but let's not dwell on that. This has been going on for well on too long, and, frankly, I call dibs on our dear Englishman, seeing as I've known him for some 50 years or so longer than you. I'd like to have him back now please."

Damon's tone was chipper, but it didn't show in his facial expression. His eyes were flickering dark, his eyebrows raised.

Grayson looked at him. "Let Elena go."

"She doesn't _want_ to go, don't you get it?"

"Let her at least…" he wavered, "she doesn't need to see this."

"I've been a prisoner of the Augustine Society for a bit, dad. Don't you remember? Damon spent five years there - don't you think he told me a lot about what was going on? I don't need protection from this. But maybe from _you_."

He had stayed noticeably quiet. He had hung his head briefly, then stood up tall again, pointing. "Elevator, one floor down."

"How many people are here right now?" Alaric tried again, as he shoved the other man forward, and into the elevator.

"I don't know. Not many."

"If you don't know the number, estimate; geez. Give us something to work with here. You don't want Elena to end up in danger, do you?"

He shot Elena a glance, hoping she knew that he'd never actually use her as bait. She raised her eyebrows, her eyes widened, but she nodded ever so slightly.

It worked, her dad started being more cooperative. "Two, three. Around this time of day there's usually not much traffic down here."

"How many prisoners?" Elena asked. It was just a whisper. She didn't really want to know… but they had to.

Her father looked at her, a defeated expression on his face. "Usually around ten. The number…" he swallowed, "fluctuates. Enzo should be in the third room on the right."

…

And that was exactly where they found him. Restrained, and tied up to a metal table, eyes closed, wrists and ankles a mass of oozy red and broken flesh. His neck, his throat looked just as bad, and across his ribcage and down by his hipbones his bonds were sunken deep into the flesh.

Damon swallowed hard. He gave Alaric a look and gestured for him to get Elena away. She didn't need to see this.

Hearing Damon tell her stories had been one thing. Actually seeing what was done, was an entirely different story. He heard her protest, heard Alaric gently talk to her as he chained her father to the pipe of the metal sink situated against the wall.

Damon zoned out. He had to focus, he had to focus on getting Enzo out.

"Enzo," he said as he quickly approached his friend. He didn't stir. Damon turned around to face Grayson Gilbert. "I'll need his clothes."

"In the cabinet by your left," the man said. Damon couldn't be sure whether he was still planning anything, so it was best he'd hurry.

"Enzo, it's Damon," he said softly, but got no reaction. If it was even possible for him to get any more worried about his friend, he just did. "Come on, man, we gotta leave. I'm here to get you out. To Bonnie. She really needs you. The baby will be here any day now, and she needs you there!" he implored the unconscious vampire, and finally saw a first flicker of eyelids.

He was busy getting Enzo out of his bounds, every so often shooting a glance over to where Elena's dad still stood with his hands tied tight.

"We'll have to call her as soon as we're out. Bad signal down here, otherwise I'd have her talk to you right now."

The next thing he knew was that Enzo had shot up and grabbed him by the throat, eyes dark and shuttered. Damon was choking.

"You're not gonna leave me behind at the last moment, are you?" Enzo suddenly rasped, his voice so hoarse and raw, it was nothing more than a harsh breath. He cocked his head a little, then gave the smallest of smiles and let go.

Damon touched his throat, testing. "Good to see you, too, Lorenzo," he said, then added, more serious and very quietly, "And no, I'm not gonna leave you behind again."

Both men exchanged a long glance.

Then Damon tossed the clothes at his friend and told him, "As much as I love to admire your physique, it's time to put some pants and a shirt on. We gotta go get you home to your girl. Katherine's spell is finally broken. And you know Bon Bon, she'll never forgive me if she hears I kept you to myself a minute longer than strictly necessary while she's home getting ready to pop out a mini-you."

Enzo rolled his eyes at him, but didn't say anything other than, "Is she… okay?"

Damon's features softened. There was no trace of his usual cocky attitude as he assured him, "She will be. Once you're home. Now let's get you out."

As soon as Damon moved, however, Enzo finally had a clear view of the rest of the room, and of Grayson Gilbert waiting in the corner.

Damon thought the man was lucky that the vampire was very weakened. Otherwise he would have killed him right away, he was sure of that. And Damon wouldn't have tried to come between them, he knew that too.

As it was, Damon watched his friend clench his teeth and avert his gaze as Damon helped him to slowly walk over to the door, where Damon found himself stating, "If I remember anything, you must be starved. You should probably feed before we head out…"

Grayson glared at him, alarmed, angry. Panicky. "You won't let-"

Damon shushed him, grinning wide and shrugged apologetically, then looked to Enzo.

"Hungry?" he asked.

Grayson tried to get away, he tugged hard at his chains. This couldn't be happening. His subject… all of his work… This could not be how it ended.

"Enzo, listen," he tried, but there was nothing he could say or do, and suddenly there was this sharp pain and he thought of Elena, Jeremy, Miranda, as he felt his limbs grow weak and he knew he was dying.

And then just as suddenly it stopped. He got jolted up and stared, wide eyed, at the dark vampire in front of him, his face a mere inch from that of the other man. Enzo was eying him, like a predator his prey.

The scales had tipped, Grayson was no longer the one in power. But he was also not dead yet. He tried to reach his bleeding throat with a cuffed hand, but it wasn't quite working. The blood had stained his collar, was dripping down his lab coat, but then the vampire shoved his wrist at him, his garish looking open wrist, and Grayson's stomach revolted as he was forced to taste it in his mouth.

"It'll help you heal," Enzo said, not quite grinning, but with a curl of his lips, "I won't kill you. But remember this moment and know that I could have. And that I _will_ , if you ever come after me again."

Damon frowned at him. He had expected… something else. He'd been prepared to break the news to Elena. But it was good that he didn't have to.

"Are you sure?" he asked.

Enzo was still staring at his tormentor. "I'm the better man, Grayson Gilbert. The monster is better than the human. - I want to do better by my child than you did by yours." And with that he finally broke his stare and started limping out the door.

"So long, Papa Gilbert," Damon said and waved before he easily caught up with the now grimacing Enzo and let the vampire heavily lean on him.

* * *

...

Enzo was leaning against the car.

Alaric and Elena were with her dad, Damon waiting for them by the entrance, giving him privacy.

He held Damon's cell phone against his ear, waiting for her voice. His body hurt so bad he could barely stand, but the blood he'd taken from Grayson Gilbert was helping to slowly mend him. At least physically.

"Damon, if you don't tell me right now that you got Enzo-"

She sounded so absolutely furious. He had to smile.

"He got me out, love," he breathed, and he could hear her choke back a sob.

She spoke the next words through her hand. He could even see it right in front of him. "Enzo? Are you… please tell me you are okay…"

"I'm fine, love, and I'm coming home."

"You're coming home. Oh god, you're really coming home. I… I love you so much, Lorenzo St. John, and I can't wait to tell you that in person."

"I love _you_ , Bonnie Bennett."

* * *

...

 _Thank you so much to "Guest" and ironcrusher for voicing your feedback in a review. Consider this one to be dedicated to the two of you!_


	20. Burn

...

The park was nice and quiet this early in the morning. It was part of the reason why Caroline had taken Josie and Lizzie out there right after they had gotten up so early.

While the little ones happily played and climbed under her watchful eye, she could let her mind wander a bit, and finally try to think a few things through. Or so she hoped.

"Careful there, Lizzie! Always keep one arm on the handrail!" She called out, and the bolder twin nodded at her, concentrating back on walking up the stairs to the slide.

They had grown so much. They used to be scared of the slide. Now they didn't even need or want her to come up there with them. She chuckled. They were as independent as she had been as a little girl.

She was glad that they seemed to be so unaffected by any of the crazy things that had happened to them. And that Kai had somehow actually done them some good. While she had refused to ever let him be alone with them - even though she wouldn't have been able to do anything about it had he decided to go all "king-of-hell" on her - she had not quite understood any of what they had been doing.

All she saw was the outcome: strangely happier kids. More laid back, self-confident. He'd somehow taught them what it meant to be a siphon and how to use it without alienating the people around you. The opposite of what he had done all his life.

And while she would never be able to forgive him or let him completely into her family, she had to admit that she had started to understand him a little bit.

Well… not the part where he killed his own siblings, including Jo, and had hurt Bonnie over and over again, and…

She bit her lip. The list was too long. Malachai Parker was too evil to ever be redeemed, but the person he was around her girls was a different man somehow. She was still relieved when he'd informed her just yesterday that now that his work was done, he would have to attend to other matters and would only be able to pop up sporadically.

"As much as I'd love to hang out indefinitely, I have obligations as the new ruler of our lovely little hell hole. - It's tough, I'm telling you ladies," he'd told her and Jo as they'd all sat down after their strange little family dinner. Minus Alaric, who was out bringing Elena and Enzo back.

Kai had continued, "Suddenly I have to deal with all these logistics and stuff. No more happy killing sprees. It's a little… disappointing. I don't mind the power, though," he'd contemplated. Then he'd smiled at them. "I'm afraid this will be a goodbye for now. But fear not, I _will_ be back every so often."

With that he had left.

Caroline was left to wonder yet again how her life as a family was supposed to continue. With Alaric, and Jo, with Kai promising - or threatening - future visits. With Klaus…

Caroline closed her eyes for a moment.

…

She had seen him again, she had visited him while on an assignment in New Orleans. His city was so strange to her. She'd felt so lost.

But for one glorious night, he'd stolen away with her and they'd "made love" right there under a starry sky, the air still warm and so very humid that their writhing bodies had been damp with sweat.

It had been so… perfect. So different than her current life as a responsible patchwork mom and part time TV personality. So carnal. And she'd felt so alive.

But then he'd had to go, and she'd had to try to evade his family. And she'd thought of Josie and Lizzie, and how things were going without her. And all she had wanted to do was go home.

…

It was strange, really. She wouldn't ever admit it to them, but deep down she was jealous of what Damon and Elena had, and Bonnie and Enzo.

They were just so in love, so perfect for each other. They came running for each other when one of them was in danger. Who would really come running for her, for Caroline Forbes?

Stefan? He was with friggin' Katherine Pierce now. And while she still felt something deep for him, she couldn't forgive him that.

Klaus? His family was a bigger mess than hers. And that was saying something. He would probably not even be available, just like the last time she had needed him. Yet, there was always something about him. And the passion involved could make a girl addicted.

Alaric? He actually might. But probably more because of the girls than because he really truly loved her. And she just couldn't love him like that anyways.

Who then, was there to come running for her? Who could she love so much that it hurt? And who would she come running for in turn?

* * *

...

Before they left, Elena needed to confront her dad one more time. She had seen Damon help Enzo into the elevator, she had exchanged a glance with the vampire and briefly even given him a hug. But he'd flinched involuntarily, and she had let go right away.

"I'm so sorry I hurt you…" she had apologized, flushing, but he had given her a small smile in return.

"I've had worse..."

His words had stung her with how true they were; and her father was to blame. She wanted to apologize yet again, but then Enzo quietly added, "It's good to see you, Elena; I'm glad you're okay."

And all she could do was smile a teary smile at him. She hadn't really known what to say to him. She felt guilty. Like what had happened was somehow her fault. Because it was _her_ dad that had tortured him. _Tortured_. She shivered. It was hard not to think about it. She knew Damon had tried to keep her from seeing too much of the traces that had still been visible on Enzo's body, but even just seeing his gaunt face, seeing how heavily he had leaned on Damon had told her a lot. Too much.

...

She bit her lip as she watched the two men continue walking over to the car. Then she turned to face a nodding Alaric, and together they went over to her dad.

Thankfully, her poor mom was with Jeremy now and didn't have to see any of this.

Jeremy had gotten the signal from Damon as soon as they had a lead on his family's whereabouts. Elena knew he'd wanted to keep his distance from their parents, but when she had been kidnapped by their dad, he had tirelessly worked with the others to try and find her. He hadn't returned to Mystic Falls for that, but he had worked with them from afar and had been on the road a lot, following tracks.

His team would be swooping in soon to take care of the Society's members and their other prisoners. They'd still been too far away to help earlier, something Jeremy had profusely apologized for to his sister.

He'd been so upset that he hadn't managed to find her earlier. But it wasn't his fault.

The one to blame was Elena's dad, and Katherine, by extension. And as it was, both would have to vanish out of their lives.

Elena stood in front of her dad, taking in the sight. It was the same handsome friendly face that she'd always keep in her memories.

The face she'd seen when she'd woken up from a bad dream and her parents had come in to soothe her back to sleep.

There was dried blood on his clothes now, the copper a stark contrast to the white of his lab coat. She knew what it meant, that Enzo drank from him, but she couldn't blame him.

Instead. She was honestly surprised - and grateful - that he hadn't killed her father. If she had been in his stead…

"I don't think I'd have let you live," she quietly told her dad, contempt visible in her features, but also tears in her eyes.

Her dad scoffed. "Will you let me live now?"

She glared at him. She didn't know what to say and was immensely grateful that Alaric was there with her, that she wasn't alone with her dad.

"You can't just call the police, sweetheart. They wouldn't know what to do with me, so… if you think I truly deserve punishment for what I did, you'll have to do it," Grayson Gilbert looked to his daughter, ignoring the other man. Elena was the best thing he'd done in his life. Taking her in. Raising her as his own. She was special. Jeremy was his in blood. But Elena… she was his in spirit. She was more like him than anyone else. She'd find that out one day. She'd understand.

"You'll be taken care of, dad. But not by me. Jeremy's got connections. They have ways of dealing with people like you that didn't do anything strictly wrong by the "usual" standards - as you might perhaps know. I mean, you were a vampire hunter once, before you turned into a torturer."

"I'm _not_ a torturer, Elena!" Grayson's anger suddenly exploded, but he forced himself to calm down again immediately. His daughter looked at him so disappointed that it hurt.

"What else, then, do _you_ think you are?! Because I really don't know." Elena hid her face behind Alaric's shoulder for a minute. She couldn't look him in the eyes.

Grayson suddenly wondered whether she was right. Whether he was a torturer. He swallowed hard. He'd enjoyed what he was doing. He'd always told himself that it didn't matter because strictly, those vampires were not people. They shouldn't feel like humans. They shouldn't need to be treated like humans. They had no rights. It didn't count. Because they were monsters, and they were technically already dead.

Right?

"I'm not a torturer. I did what I did to help people. I told you that before. I'm not going to explain myself again." His mouth turned into a thin line.

His daughter stared at him for a long time. No one said a word until Alaric finally cleared his throat loudly. "Time to leave, Elena. You go with Damon, get Enzo home, and I'll wait here."

She looked at him. "I don't think you should wait here alone, with him-"

He smiled. "I just want you to go and get out of this depressing place. I'll be fine. I can take care of myself till Jer's guys are here. But I don't trust your dad to still be here if we left him alone now. And I can't have that happen. He's a threat to all of us. He's a threat to you. And no one threatens my family."

She kissed him lightly on the cheek then, and walked past her dad, out the door. Then she started running to the elevator, bit her nails while waiting for it to take her up.

...

Elena ran straight for Damon, who had been waiting for her. She clung to him, burying her face against his chest and finally the tears came.

It took her a long time before she finally felt like the worst was over and she could stand up straight again. She looked up into his troubled eyes and apologized, "I think I got your shirt all wet."

He smiled and wiped her tears from her face. "No, that was the rain," he whispered, then louder, "Is Ric coming?"

"He wants to wait."

Damon nodded. He didn't need an explanation. "Let's go, babe," he said, "time to get you back."

They walked over to the car, where she saw Enzo lying curled up in the back.

"Catching up on some much needed sleep," Damon muttered, explaining, sorrow showing in his face. "Come on, let's get him to Bonnie…"

And they did.

* * *

...

She had felt the stupid Braxton Hicks contractions pick up again, taunting her. She drank all the water and rested as much as possible, but it wasn't doing much these days. If she had to do this three more weeks, she would be so tired and exhausted by the time she had to get the baby out, she would probably just fall asleep during the whole thing. She sighed.

"Bonnie. They're on their way," Caroline informed her from over by the couch and patted the seat right next to her. "Sit back down. They'll be here before you know it."

Bonnie rolled her eyes, annoyed. She wasn't annoyed at Caroline, of course. It was the whole damn situation. She was suddenly so anxious.

What would Enzo think when he saw her? She had gotten so wide; she had days where she really hated her body. And then she was amazed at the miracle that was growing inside of her.

She remembered how she had first found out about it. Enzo had been gone a while by then. She hadn't even really paid attention to her own body all that much. She had attributed anything off as stress. The random bouts of hunger, then slight nausea. Her period not showing up… the crampiness. Until one day she had fainted when she had been hanging out at the Armory with Kai, Damon and Caroline. Caroline had been the one she had seen first upon coming to. A worried expression had been on her face and she'd asked quietly so that the men couldn't hear her, "You're not pregnant, Bonnie, are you?"

"What?!" Bonnie had exclaimed and then quickly denied the possibility. But then she had started thinking, and suddenly everything had made so much sense. The doctor had confirmed it a couple of days later and she'd sat in shock and wonder for a while, unable to do anything.

What future would her baby have, would it get to know the father? Now he really was on his way back to her. To them. Enzo was really coming home. It took everything for her to not start crying again. She took a deep breath. She needed to be strong for him, for their baby. Just a little while longer.

So she finally sat back down next to her friend, slumping down into the cushions.

"It's going to be alright," Caroline cajoled. "It'll all be over soon."

Bonnie knew she was being unfair, but she couldn't hold her sudden anger back. Maybe it was because of those stupid pregnancy hormones messing with her. Or maybe she was just being a bitch. But she scoffed at Caroline.

"It won't, though! It won't just magically be all okay. Do you even know what they did to him? Do you? Do you think he can just happily get back to his life and play the happy dad-to-be, when he hasn't even been around for most of my pregnancy?"

"Bonnie, I'm sorry, I…" Caroline was flustered, and at a loss for words. Clearly she hadn't anticipated this kind of outbreak. And her friend couldn't stop just yet.

"I was already so worried about him before all this happened. He had the worst dreams. The _worst_! Mr. Gilbert," she still called him that, it just came out that way, "put him through all that again. I'm… I'm so," she couldn't find a good word, and had to settle on a lesser one, "so _worried_ about him. I mean, I can't exactly send him to a therapist. What would he even tell them: 'Hey, I'm a vampire and I survived 70 years of torture and then recently my tormentor locked me up again and the constant torture and multiple deaths may have messed with me a little bit?'"

Caroline stared at her, open mouthed. "Bonnie…"

Her best friend suddenly started sobbing and profusely apologizing, "I'm so sorry, Care. Oh gosh. You don't deserve any of this. I'm sorry..."

"It's okay Bonnie."

"No, it's not. I have no right to lash out at you like that. You've been there for me. You've dealt with all my moods and... I just don't know what to do, how to even treat Enzo when he's back. I'm just sooo…"

Bonnie's sobs got too strong to continue speaking. Caroline scrunched up her face in sympathy as she gently stroked Bonnie's hair. She felt so sorry for her friend. The last few months had been hard for her, too, but Bonnie had had it so much worse. She inhaled, then said with her best act of conviction, "You'll _ask_ him what he needs. You two are not alone, either, you know? We're your friends. And we're there for you."

Bonnie looked up into her friend's face, wiping her cheeks.

"It's just so hard," she muttered.

"I know."

"I'm so angry that I had to do all this alone, but I can't be angry at _him;_ it's not like he chose any of this..."

"You can be angry at Katherine," Caroline suggested, smiling at Bonnie. "And at Elena's dad. You have every right to be. It's okay to be angry, but it's also okay to leave the anger behind every so often and focus on the good." She lightly patted Bonnie's stomach that was unmistakably protruding even when she sat in a slumped heap on the couch.

Suddenly they both heard a car approach and park, and they exchanged a glance. Bonnie's eyes grew wide. As quickly as she still could, she hoisted herself up off the couch and ran to the door, opened it and…

…

First she saw Elena standing next to the car, waving with one hand, and they both smiled at each other. Her tears started welling again and she could tell that her friend had started crying, too. Bonnie mouthed a "hi," it was all she could say, frozen on the spot for a moment, when she noticed Damon by one of the backdoors, stooped down to help someone out of the car.

 _Her_ someone.

"Enzo?" It was more of a gasp for air than a name, and her hand flew to her mouth as she started walking toward him. She needed to go slow now. Her knees were so weak as if this was a first date, and the audience didn't help, either.

And then she saw him, the real him. Not a dream version. It was really him. He stood tall now, chin raised up. But he looked like he had the weight of the world on his shoulders and his face was haggard, his eyes darker than usual. She couldn't see much physical damage from here - yet - with one exception: his fingers, his hands protruding from his shirt, they were red and raw looking. Her face fell a little, but she caught herself quickly. She didn't want him to think…

When he walked, it was a heavy limp, Damon by his side. Caroline moved to help, she was a vampire after all, and now stronger than Damon, but he gave her a look and a small shake of his head and she stayed where she was, nodding. Understanding.

...

When Enzo finally stood right in front of Bonnie, his smile was the most beautiful thing she ever saw.

"Hello, love," he breathed, and her hands came up to cup his face so she could kiss me.

"I've missed you _so_ much," Bonnie choked out, the tears running down her face freely once more. She forgot all about the others then. For one blissfull perfect moment it was just him and her.

"I love you so much, Enzo St. John," she whispered, and the smile she gave him couldn't have been bigger. Still, she cried.

"Don't cry, Bonnie. Please. I'm here now. I'm... here." His voice broke.

She couldn't help the tears. But she tried to rein in the sob that wanted to escape when she saw the marks peeking out from under the standing collar of his jacket. "Oh, babe, I'm so sorry…"

He grimaced a little when her hand lingered over his skin, and she didn't know whether she could even hug him. Whether she should. It was a horrible feeling. But then she felt his arms come around her as he pressed her hard against him.

"I love you so much, Bonnie Bennett. I love you…"

* * *

...

 _Thank you all so much for the reviews. I won't deny that it's more fun with a little feedback here and there. Otherwise it's all just for the void._


	21. Scars

...

"And why does this not want to work anyways?" She shoved the TV, angry, and jumped when the screen cracked with an awful sound. She started crying. Nothing was working.

Katherine Pierce had been the most powerful being for one beautiful moment. But now she was a human and while that in itself wasn't so bad, she was not exactly living her happily ever after, either. One good thing she did have, however, and that was Stefan Salvatore. She was just not sure whether that was also enough…

When he came home later that day, tired and dirty after a long day at the auto repair shop that had hired him just a few days after they'd first gotten to the little city, he frowned at the TV and said, "You need to get your aggression under control, Katherine, or this is not gonna work."

She pouted, but he only glared at her and stomped off to the bathroom where she then heard him run the water for a much needed shower.

Later, when he was all cleaned up, and she had calmed down, they both sat down together on the couch, with some leftovers from yesterday's meal.

"I'm sorry about the TV," she mumbled between bites. Usually they liked to watch a show with their dinner, but with the screen as cracked as it was, Stefan hadn't felt much like watching anything. He grumbled in response, then kissed her unexpectedly.

"I know this is hard for you, Katherine. It's not very glamorous. I get it. This town is ridiculously small, so is the apartment…" He trailed off and grew silent.

"I'm adjusting. Okay? I'm trying." She looked at him.

"I know."

"I'm just not used to any of this. It's… - I want to go back to Mystic Falls, Stefan."

He shook his head.

"Not possible," he said, "after what you did? Honestly, Katherine, part of me doesn't even understand why I am with you after everything you put my family through. My friends."

She looked hurt, but it was the truth. They both knew it. There was a strong attraction they had for each other, a pull. But there was also a lot of baggage. A lot.

"They got Elena back, though. And Bonnie's handsome dark prince." She said it in a way that made Stefan scowl at her.

"You'll leave them alone, Katherine. I mean it." Stefan's unhappy expression almost made her laugh. He was always so serious. She missed his more fun personality. She sighed. She was probably the one responsible for that one having vanished.

"Geez, I'm not gonna do anything to anyone, alright? Chill. - How's Damon, anyways? I heard you two talk on the phone last night."

But Stefan only gave her a look in reply, and her pout returned.

* * *

...

"Damon…"

It was good to hear Stefan's voice. Just that one word had felt like home.

"Hello brother," Damon sang into the phone, "how's it hangin'?"

There was a pause on the other end, a sigh. "It's alright."

"Well, if that doesn't sound convincing," Damon chirped, but his expression clouded over. "It's her, right? Stef. Come home. Dump that bitch and come back."

"I can't, Damon," his brother said, sounding sad, "I know it's hard to understand. But she…"

Damon interrupted him there. "Actually, I get it. I was part of that wonderful triangle for a long time, remember? And, well, she _is_ a stunner."

He got a chuckle out of the younger for that.

"How is Elena anyway?"

Damon knew his brother was just deferring the attention, away from his troubles with Katherine, but went with it anyway. "She's… getting better every day. Her dad did a number on her, though. I thought ours was bad."

"Ours _was_ bad, Damon."

Damon had to agree. But at least his father hadn't been a secret torture master. Well… not to that same extent, anyways. He licked his lip and looked over to where Elena was sleeping, only her head sticking out from under the heavy blanket. It had gotten a bit cold lately. But mostly, she fought off a cold inside of her. He sighed.

"She's… changed, Stefan. After all the stuff we've had to deal with, I fear this one kind of broke her. I'm… I don't really know how to help her, so…" He paused, contemplating. The idea still sounded a bit foreign to him. What would Stefan think? Then he said it. "I'm gonna do it: I'm gonna propose soon, Stefan."

"Damon, that's…"

"I know. What if she's too traumatized and I don't give her enough time to deal with everything. Maybe she'll say no, because I'm rushing things too much. Maybe-"

"Brother," Stefan stopped him mid-ramble, an obvious grin in his voice. "She won't say no. Give her time, yes. Be there for her. I'm sure she'll be so happy about your proposal, though, no matter what you got planned - or if you got anything planned at all."

"Just something small… I always thought we'd go big, you know."

Damon knew his brother understood. He sighed. He wanted Stefan to be more than a voice on the phone. "Come back, brother."

"Damon…"

"At least for some shots before I become an honest man?" It was as close as Damon would get to outright begging.

"I think I'll be able to do that," Stefan allowed.

Damon smiled.

* * *

...

Bonnie was watching over Enzo as he slept. He'd slept a lot in the last few days since he'd come home to her. His body had healed quickly once he was back on a more regular - and filling - diet, with a few exceptions. The scars from when he'd been a human had all stayed, forever branded on his skin, as sole reminders of way worse he'd had to endure.

Yet she kind of found herself unable to look away from them. She had traced the long line on his arm about a thousand times, mostly just in her head, because she didn't dare touch where he'd been torn apart. No, she had to be very careful with him.

Sometimes she wondered why she had always been so off-handed about his torture experience in the past.

She remembered his determination back when she had been the Anchor. How he'd said he would fight until the last minute, until oblivion consumed him, because he'd had endured seventy years of torture, and he hadn't given up because that couldn't have been all fate had in store for him.

In a corner of her mind she now wondered whether part of her was just like Mr. Gilbert. Was she a monster, too, deep down? That hadn't thought of Enzo as a man with feelings, with a real personality, with dreams, before he became _her_ Enzo? Would she have tolerated vampires being tortured if she had never met her peculiar circle of friends?

She shivered at the thought and put a hand on her stomach as little baby Bennett-St. John kicked her a little too ferociously. Between the tiny one's kicks and the stupid Braxton Hicks contractions and all those other annoying discomforts at the end of pregnancy, she couldn't sleep much anymore. Add to that her worry about Enzo, and she was pretty much up all night. Guarding his sleep, while his baby kicked away happily inside of her.

She was tired, though, of course. She took long naps during the day, but they were never enough. She couldn't even begin to imagine what it must have been like for him, being forced to stay awake for months...

He was still catching up on all the lost sleep, and while she was relieved he could finally rest - that he felt comfortable enough with her to allow himself to fall asleep, she was worried for him, because with every new night, he seemed to grow more and more uneasy and agitated during his sleep. As if the dead tiredness was slowly making way to more dreams. And dreams weren't always so good when you had horrors to process…

Bonnie realized she must have dozed off because the quality of light had changed around her and a now familiar haze appeared for a moment, then lifted.

...

"Hello my child." It was her Grams. Bonnie smiled as the old woman approached her and gently put her arms around her.

"It's getting difficult to reach around you." Grams laughed, but then sobered a little.

Bonnie cocked her head, frowning. "What is it, Grams? Anything I need to worry about?"

Grams looked over to where Enzo lay, Bonnie's arm draped around his head. "You already have so much to worry about, my child... - I'm glad you got him back."

"Me too," Bonnie muttered, then sighed. "Whatever it is, I'd rather know."

Grams eyes bore into her, calculating. "It's about this plane you created, Bonnie. With Kai having taken over Arcadius' psychic plane, there was a shift and yours, well, yours turned into the sole counterweight to his 'hell.'"

Bonnie stared at her. "What does that mean? I won't have to work with that piece of shit any more, I hope?"

Grams raised her eyebrows at Bonnie's curse word; always a grandmother. But she didn't say anything about it, just shook her head, "Not exactly," she explained, "But… well, you remember when you were the anchor to the Other Side?"

Her granddaughter nodded.

"Of course…" She already knew where this was headed.

The older woman sighed.

"It'll be different now, Bonnie, because you created that place. You are the one in power there."

"But this will not be just 'my place' anymore, will it?"

"No, child. It won't."

Bonnie sighed.

"Will this affect my baby at all? My… my relationship?"

She couldn't bear to think that maybe she'd have to let Enzo go. She couldn't do that again.

But her Grams started smiling and assured her, "No, Bonnie. Your family will be just fine. You _all_ will be. You will, however, have to save the souls that shouldn't go to hell. With your psychic plane, you created a new Other Side, because this is how the balance works. And you'll be its anchor once more."

Bonnie's throat felt tight.

"Until you yourself pass on and the next generation takes over," Grams continued.

Bonnie's shock was apparent, but her grandmother only looked at her sadly. Did that mean her baby, her child, would have to deal with this one day? No…

"And one more thing. You may not like this, but it's all I could do for you. The _last_ thing I could do…" Her grandmother looked at her strangely gravely. "The risen dead, the ones still here, will have to go on through you. They can't stay here."

Elena's parents, she thought, Jo... And then, with a shock she realized: Enzo…

"But you said my family would be okay," she sputtered, her words blurring. No no no no no.

"Shhhh," Grams made and hugged her, "They will be. This is the deal I could make: Enzo can stay, as long as _I'll_ go on forever."

She smiled, a wide, a peaceful smile. But Bonnie wasn't ready for this. Why couldn't she be completely happy, just once?

"But you _are_ ," Grams told her, as if Bonnie had spoken aloud. "I've been gone a long time, Bonnie. It's time. - Your handsome vampire… he's so surprisingly good for you. He makes you happy, I can see that. He will take care of you for me. You won't need me anymore."

"That's not true," Bonnie cried. "I'll still need you!"

Grams shook her head, still smiling. "I love you, Bonnie. But now it's time for a goodbye. Maybe one day we will see each other again. I'll be waiting for you in the beyond."

"Grams. I love you, too."

"Be happy, Bonnie."

With a last gentle embrace, the old woman vanished and Bonnie emerged back into the real world.

...

Her tears, her silent crying and shaking, woke Enzo up, who looked at her, concerned. He sat up next to her, sweeping a strand of her hair out of her face.

"What is it, love?"

She couldn't look at him, but quietly told him everything.

"I'm sorry I woke you up," she cried.

But he simply said, "I'm glad you did. I wouldn't want you to deal with this alone."

Then he held her until the sun rose again, until her tears were dried, until she'd finally fallen asleep; and longer. He held her until she was ready to let go.

* * *

...

The cup with coffee was piping hot. Steam rose from it and she found herself hypnotized by the slow rising white wafts. She sighed. For Miranda, the last months had been a rollercoaster. At first, there had been nothing but wonder. She had been back from the dead, how crazy was that? So much had changed. Her children had been so grown, so amazing.

Slowly, other feelings had seeped in, sorrow, regret, despair. She'd always known that Grayson had a side to him he kept hidden from her, even before the _resurrection._ She hadn't minded too much, because she'd figured it was mostly the vampire hunting business, and that gave her the shivers, so she preferred to silently accept and ignore it. She was glad that there were people out there that dealt with this horror movie threat, but she didn't need to know the details.

Secretly, she'd been excited that her husband was a real hero. What woman didn't love to call a knight in shining armor hers?

But then Elena had forced her to open her eyes to a deeper truth. A dark truth. And while she was more than upset about it, the fact that it had been her own daughter to unearth that secret had hurt her even more.

Parents were supposed to protect their children, to shield them from the evils of the world, and then, when the time came, carefully explain and help them understand and deal with it. She had horribly failed, then. Her kids had known more about it all than she did.

Miranda felt so out of the loop that she didn't think she'd ever be able to continue normally.

She remembered a conversation she'd had with Grayson when Elena was asleep, back when they were already staying at one of the motels. Like in some cheap movie…

…

"Why did you ever make that… that _deal_ with the woman, Gray? Don't you see what this is doing to our family? To our daughter? She's not a child anymore. You - we need to let her go and live her own life," she'd said, every word tinged with unhappiness.

He'd looked at her from where he'd sat opposite her on one of the rusty chairs. His hair had looked ruffled from where he'd run his hands through it so many times. She could tell that this was never what he'd wanted their lives to be, how he'd envisioned his plans to unfold.

"I couldn't stay in that place, Miranda. It was literal hell. You should know; you were there!"

But she honestly didn't remember it all that well. Maybe she'd put up a protective barrier in her mind or something.

"So it was for selfish reasons…" She had finally understood it then. All that talk about doing it for Elena, he had lied to himself, too. It had never been about her. Probably not even back when he had first seen Katherine. And then, when he had spotted that man at the Mystic Grill, Bonnie Bennett's boyfriend, the darkness in him had once more won.

She had implored him to let Elena go, then. She had told him she would stay with him, if only he would let their daughter go. He had looked at her, abhorred by the realization that his wife saw their lives as a hostage situation. But it had been one, though…

At some point, however, it had dawned on her that her husband, that smart man that loved physics and science and who she had always been able to reason with, wouldn't even listen to her anymore. He was beyond reason. So she had told Elena to just go along with it, try to make the best of it, since some invisible ropes held them in place and they couldn't just walk away.

She had despaired. She had given up. She had been a bad mother yet again, because she also retreated from her daughter, leaving Elena to deal with everything her own way. Until one day, Elena had told her there was hope, and she had begged Miranda to please please not give up. She had told her mother that someone was on the way to get them. That Jeremy was involved, too. Then, suddenly, it had all been over.

Now here she sat and it still didn't feel right, or good, and her heart ached too much because Grayson wasn't with her anymore. Because despite everything, she still loved him. Her mind simply didn't want to believe he could have ever tortured anyone. Or that his weird little game with Katherine Pierce could have really just been because he was scared for himself… She didn't want to allow that truth. It couldn't be hers.

Because that simply wasn't the man she had married. It just couldn't be.

So when Bonnie Bennett came to her door one day, Miranda Gilbert was ready.

* * *

...

"Hey Bonnie," Elena said and gave her friend a sideways hug. "How's baby Bennett doing in there?"

Bonnie gave her a wary smile. She knew that this visit wouldn't be what Elena thought it was, and she was so very afraid that her friend would not be able to forgive her. Before she could even say anything, she saw Mrs. Gilbert come out of the kitchen, holding onto the doorframe as she paused.

"Hello Bonnie." She smiled.

Elena was now trying to usher Bonnie in, glancing over to her mom. She furrowed her brow. Something seemed to be going on that she wasn't aware of.

"Mom? Are you okay?"

Miranda sighed, but smiled at Elena before turning to Bonnie. "Can I make you girls a tea? I'll be in here," she pointed behind her into the kitchen, "So you can talk in peace and I won't bother you."

"Actually…" Bonnie looked rather unhappy. Elena was worried. Her friend still hadn't entered the house, and she could now see Enzo waiting in the driveway.

"If he wants to come in, too-" she began, but Bonnie interrupted her.

"No, he's… he'd rather just wait. - Elena, I need to talk to you and your mom, both. You're not gonna like it, and I'm sorry."

"Bonnie, you're scaring me." Elena took Bonnie's hand and held it. They both looked at each other, and Elena could see tears form in the other girl's eyes.

"I'm so sorry, Elena. Mrs. Gilbert," she looked over to her friend's mom, "this is not my choice. But there's something I need to tell you."

She explained how she'd become an anchor of sorts again, a portal to a newly established Other Side, and that she was there to guide Miranda Gilbert over. The woman looked strangely at peace.

"What?! No!" Elena was shocked. This wasn't happening. How cruel could fate be to give her back her mother and then take her away again, just like that? After everything that had happened with her dad. Her mother walked over to where she was still standing. The two friends had never even made it farther into the house. They just stood there, by the door, and looked at each other.

"It's alright, Elena," Miranda whispered, smiling, gently stroking her daughter's hair with clumsy hands. "I… I shouldn't be here anymore, anyways."

"What are you even talking about? I need you here, mom-"

"You don't, sweetheart. You've already grieved me once, now it's time to go on with your life. Be happy with Damon. Become a doctor. Follow all your dreams... The world is wide open for you."

Elena started crying. She didn't want to say goodbye again to her mom. If anything good had come of it all, it was that her mom was back with her. She needed her here…

"I can't let you go, mommy," she cried, and felt like a small child again. Miranda took her in her arms, shooting Bonnie a quick glance. The poor girl looked very uncomfortable. She had wrapped her arms around herself as if in protection.

"It's not my world anymore, sweetheart. It's… just not. With your dad, and everything that happened, I don't think I could live with that knowledge anyways."

"I'll have to," Elena whispered, and Miranda's heart broke even more.

"I know, sweetheart. But you're so much stronger than I ever was. You'll get through this. I don't want to be the burden weighing you down." She sighed, lifting herself up to her full height. "I love you, Elena. Please forgive me."

"Mom…"

"Please tell Jeremy I love him, too. I would have liked to tell him myself, but I think it would be too hard for him. Over the phone, and…" she trailed off. It was awfully quiet for a long time.

Eventually, Elena whispered, "I forgive you, mommy, I know it wasn't your fault. None of it was." She cried and smiled at the same time. This really was goodbye. "I love you," she muttered and gave her mom one last kiss on the cheek.

Then Miranda nodded to Bonnie. "I'm ready."

Bonnie stepped forward toward her, and Miranda extended one slender arm to touch her. She smiled.

"Thank you," she whispered, and just like that, she was gone.

Elena sank down on the ground, sobbing for real as her best friend sat down next to her, holding her close. "I'm so sorry, Elena…"

...

That night, as Elena lay with Damon and had finally fallen asleep, he kept stroking her hair for many more hours.

She had been through too much. It was time that this all ended and they'd have a happier event to look forward to.

He gave her a gentle kiss on her forehead, before he, too, finally fell asleep, spooning her, shielding her from everything out there.

* * *

...

Earlier, when Damon had arrived to pick Elena up off the floor, they had all sat down on the stairs in the front for a moment: Damon holding Elena, Bonnie leaning into Enzo. It had been so quiet.

Bonnie had not wanted to talk about it at all, but she knew she had to. So she finally broke the silence by clearing her throat.

"I'll have to know where Jeremy brought your dad," she said without preamble. There was nothing to soften the blow. Damon and Elena both stared at her, and she felt Enzo's arms come around her a little more protectively. She closed her eyes, grateful that he was there with her.

"You're gonna take him, too, aren't you?" Elena asked, and Bonnie nodded. "Good."

Elena had lost her dad a long time ago. Now it was time to get rid of the monster that had his face, it was time to get rid of it forever.

...

Bonnie and Enzo had left their two friends shortly thereafter, with the information they needed, and with a few more hugs exchanged. Now they back at their own place, huddled together on the couch, because the bed was just too uncomfortable for Bonnie these days.

"I'll need to do this now," she told Enzo, absently stroking the long scar on his arm where it was visible, not noticing the look he shot her. "Before our baby is here."

He leaned close to her ear as he muttered, "I'll come with you."

"No!" She exclaimed, a little too panicky probably. But she couldn't help it. The thought of Enzo having to face his tormentor even one more time was unbearable.

"Bonnie, I won't let you go alone." He sounded very serious.

She leaned her head against him and sighed. She wouldn't win a fight against him if part of her wanted him with her. She just didn't want him with Mr. Grayson.

"That man did unspeakable things to you, Enzo," she reminded him and he flinched. It pained her to see him actually show a reaction. It was a testament to how badly he had suffered. His barriers were usually up again, but when he was with her, the cracks still showed. Some things you couldn't overcome.

"I don't want you to have to see him ever again," she continued.

"Nobody knows him as well as I do, Bonnie. I don't want him to get in your head. Or worse…"

She scrunched up her face as sudden tears threatened to well over.

"Honestly? I'm so so afraid that he'll stick around on the Other Side, that I'll have to see him constantly, like…"

"Like you saw me?" His lips curled. He was actually smiling at the memory.

She playfully swatted his chest. "At least you were kinda cute."

"Even then?" He wiggled an eyebrow. "If I remember correctly, you hated me with a passion back then."

"I didn't hate you," she disagreed, and he cocked his head to look at her, rather doubtful. "I just didn't like you very much. And you were a pretty big douche."

"Ouch." He grinned. But soon they both turned serious again.

Bonnie touched his hand that he'd placed on her stomach to trace the movements inside of her, and she examined his every finger. "I just… he deserves to be in hell. And I hope the Other Side will get him there immediately. I couldn't bear to see him longer than necessary. I'd go crazy with him in my mind…"

She snuggled closer against him and missed the concern in his face. No matter what Bonnie said, he'd come with her in the morning.

He could protect her against Grayson Gilbert on this plane of existence, but he was honestly terrified of what might happen if Bonnie's fear came true.

* * *

...

They left early the next morning. Bonnie had gotten a few hours of sleep on the couch, but she could tell by the shadows on Enzo's face that he had stayed up for most of the night. She was worried about him. He was back to barely sleeping. She could barely concentrate on anything else the whole way, until they finally reached the place where Grayson Gilbert was held.

It was an old house. Civil War era. Very remote. When they entered, the place had the musty smell of old times and museums. Enzo had no difficulty coming in, so any ownership must have had long ended. There was a woman waiting for them. She extended a hand.

"Amber," she introduced herself. "Jer told me you needed to see the prisoner."

Bonnie frowned. She wondered whether the woman knew who "the prisoner" was to Jeremy. But she didn't ask and merely nodded.

"Follow me." She glared at Enzo, assessing him, and Bonnie felt the need to grab his arm possessively. They were in a house occupied by vampire hunters, another reason why he shouldn't have come with her. But according to Elena, Jeremy had told his people to lay off when it came to Enzo. Still, that woman gave off pretty hostile vibes.

They followed her down a long hallway that ended in a flight of stairs.

"Looks just like the Armory's vault down there," Bonnie stated.

Enzo grimaced.

"So many good memories combined," he replied rather drily, and she squeezed his hand.

"You can still change your mind. Wait outside for me," she suggested, but he gave a half shake of his head.

"Not an option, love. Let's get it over with."

...

Grayson Gilbert sat chained to a chair in a dark chamber without daylight, waiting for them. This was not his cell, just a visitors' room of sorts, Amber had informed them. The man looked unkempt and tired, but otherwise alright. There was no trace left of where Enzo had bitten him. His clothes were simple, a pair of jeans, a gray t-shirt. He was frustratingly handsome, even now.

Bonnie remembered how Caroline and she had both admitted to having had a little crush on their best friend's dad at some point during their lives. They'd all laughed about it so hard, Elena the most.

"But he's my dad!" She had exclaimed. Bonnie smiled at the memory, though the thought was kind of revolting so many years later.

"Enzo," Grayson said, completely ignoring Bonnie.

She bristled, anger made her cheeks flush.

"Don't talk to him," she hissed. She felt Enzo's calming touch against her, but she pushed herself in front of him anyway.

Grayson grinned. "You got your girl to be your shield? I never pegged you for a coward."

Suddenly, she stood alone, only a breeze indicating that Enzo had sped past her to Mr. Gilbert. He had the man by the throat, his face just a millimeter away from the other's, his nostrils flared. When he spoke, however, he didn't address Grayson.

"Do it," was all he said, and Bonnie slowly approached them.

"Do what?" Grayson choked out. "You couldn't kill me, so you brought her to finish it? Is that what this is?"

Bonnie wanted to tell him to stop taunting Enzo, but she knew he could look out for himself.

"I didn't kill you because you are already dead," he retorted.

Bonnie didn't wait for the startled man to regain his footing and lash out again. She bent forward and took his hand in hers. "What is this?" He made, but it was already happening, he was dissolving, going over to the Other Side.

For a moment she was terrified, it seemed exactly like she'd feared it would be. He was hanging on, staring at her. "Bonnie Bennett, this isn't over. Bring me back! Bring me back!" He got louder and louder, "Bring me back, or I will find ways-"

He was cut off rather abruptly as a darkness opened up behind him, bringing an icy cold and painful sharpness with it that swallowed him so quickly it was almost comical. He didn't even have a chance to process it.

Bonnie wasn't sure whether she imagined it, but she was quite certain she briefly saw Kai's face flash somewhere in the blackness, saluting her. She shook her head as if to clear it, and the darkness was replaced by the stark gray concrete of the visitors' room.

…

When all was done, she leaned heavily against Enzo, exhausted.

"Bonnie. Are you alright?" he asked her, concern evident in his features. Ever the worried boyfriend, she thought, and smiled at him.

"This was… easier than I thought," she muttered. "But now I'm really really tired." She looked at him, worry creeping into her own face. "Are _you_ okay?" She asked, but he didn't say anything. She could read it in his eyes, that he really wasn't okay, though for her, he wanted to be. She stroked his cheek.

"He's gone, you know," she told him quietly. "He passed through. And not to the good place…"

He nodded, jaw muscles working as he clenched and unclenched his teeth, trying to process what she had said. Gently, she kissed his forehead and led him out of the dark place. Up into the daylight.

Time to get home. She had a feeling the baby wouldn't wait all that much longer.

* * *

...

Bonnie had called Elena on the way back. She had told her that it was over. Elena had wanted to ask where her dad had gone, whether Bonnie had seen it. But she had been too afraid. And Bonnie hadn't volunteered the information.

Elena sighed. She sat huddled up with a blanket over her legs - even though it wasn't cold, and waited for Damon's return. He had gone over to the bar for a bit, helping Matt deal with a few things and catching up. She knew it was good for him to get away from all this for a bit. She missed him regardlessly.

The ringing noise from the doorbell startled her. She tried to ignore it at first, but whoever it was, they were persistent. It better not be someone trying to sell her anything.

With a sigh she finally peeled herself out of the blanket and walked over to the heavy front door. Upon opening it, she said, "This better be good." But the words died at the end when she saw Jeremy standing in front of her, his eyes red from crying, his cheeks still wet, and his clothes looking dirty, bloody, and torn.

"Oh Jer," she muttered as she pulled him in for a hug.

* * *

...

 _Anyone want to give a suggestion as to how and where they'd like Damon to propose? If not, I'll go with my rather lame idea. :) But yes, proposal coming up soon._

 _Thank you so much for reading and especially to those who reviewed. Welcome back Anna and Shadowdancer! I missed you two! :)_

 _I guess we took care of Miranda and Grayson. We shall see how it goes from here. And deenew: I did like Tyler and Caroline on the show, but unfortunately in this story, there's no chance anymore for them (see chapter 15...)_


	22. Gorecki

...

Oh no. This was bad. So very very heartbreakingly bad. Caroline covered her hand with her mouth as silent tears ran down her cheeks.

She was hiding behind the doorpost, peeking in on Jo and the twins. The other woman was saying goodbye…

Admittedly, Caroline had sometimes had dark thoughts in which she'd wondered how different things could have been if Jo had never returned, had stayed dead. Now that it was certain that she would soon be gone again, Caroline felt horrible about it and so sad. She was sad for the twins, mostly. They would lose their mother who they had barely even had a chance to get to know. But she was also sad for Jo, of course. Dying unexpectedly was one thing, but then getting to go back only to be forced to leave your beautiful daughters, that was just cruel.

And poor Alaric. She had seen him late last night, sitting alone in the dark of the kitchen, crying silently. She hadn't known whether she should go in to console him, or do him the favor of pretending she hadn't noticed. She did the latter, because she just didn't know what to say that could make it even remotely better.

"I love you girls," she heard Jo say as she hugged the two close. "And l'll always be there for you, up in here," she touched their little foreheads, "just a thought away."

"We'll still miss you, mommy Jo," Lizzie said. She looked sorrowful but wasn't crying, contrary to her sister.

"I know, sweetie. I will miss you girls too. But mommy Caroline and daddy will always always be there for you, right here, okay? They love you just as much as I do." She smiled, wistfully, "And I mean, at least you get to say that you had three parents for a little bit - there's not many people that can truly say that."

"So..." Josie was still sobbing. "We're extra special?"

"You are extra special." Jo smiled, and hugged the twins one last time, before she stood up, waved, and walked past Caroline out the door.

The two women exchanged a glance. Jo crossed her arms across her chest and said, "Thank you, Caroline. I know this all," she made a wide gesture, "was hard for you. I'm so sorry if I made it even worse."

"Oh Jo, no," Caroline started, but Jo wasn't done yet.

"I'm really truly grateful for what you did. Please know that. - For allowing these wonderful, amazing girls to live. For being a great mother to them. And for helping Alaric. I know he and I had our… difficulties with this whole situation, but through all of it, I always loved him." Her eyes were swimming now, but so were Caroline's. She could barely see anymore. This was tearing her heart out. "Promise me you'll look out for him, too, will you?"

"Of course." It came out as a rasp. Like she should clear her throat, but the moment was too intimate to do that. The prominent bump appeared between Caroline's eyebrows as she fought back her tears.

"Goodbye, Caroline."

Caroline wanted to say something, but nothing sounded like a great choice of last words, so instead she bent forward and gave the other woman a big hug.

"I'm glad they got to meet you, Jo."

Jo nodded, then waved and went down the stairs where Bonnie was already waiting for her.

* * *

...

With a sigh, Damon looked up again from behind the bar. He was ready to close; he had sent Matt home an hour ago, telling him he would take care of their last guest. Who was very reluctant to leave.

He would have to go over there.

"Ric," he said when he'd gotten to where the man was sitting, swigging a bottle back and forth, even though it had been emptied a while back. "I'm sorry, pal, but you'll have to head home now. Want me to call you an uber or something?"

Alaric looked up at him, suddenly stopping his bottle's movement.

"Closing shop?"

"For the night, yeah. It's three in the morning man. Or is that still three at night? I never know where they draw the line…" Damon leaned back in his chair a little, scrutinizing his friend. Were they still friends, though? They hadn't been very friendly lately. Alaric had staked Damon. He'd pretty much given up on their friendship then. But he had done it for his daughters. The best of reasons. And Damon had to admit that he _had_ been an asshole back then, when he was still under Sybil's spell.

Nothing good had come of that, everyone knew it.

Damon sighed again.

"I'm sorry, Ric," he muttered, staring at the other man, who sat down his bottle finally, and stared right back.

"It's everyone's favorite words to me today." He looked defeated, but his tone was trying to go for something else.

"I don't mean Jo," Damon went on, playing with the peanuts on a little plate on the table.

Alaric raised an eyebrow at the admittance. "What then, _do_ you mean?"

"Ric. Can we… can we get this over with and be real friends again already?"

Alaric shot him a glance, then tried to drink a sip out of his empty bottle, scowling when he realized it wasn't going to happen.

"We went out together to get Elena back. Enzo…"

"I know. It's not like it was a very fun road trip with lots of opportunities for bonding, though. Don't you agree?" Damon got up and walked behind the bar table. He grabbed one last bottle of beer from the fridge and brought it over. "Last one. And then I'll give you a ride."

"What happened to calling me an uber?" Alaric scoffed.

Damon grinned at him. "I just realized that a friend would handle this situation differently?" He asked, before his grin vanished and he got more serious again. "I meant what I said. I'm sorry. And you had every right to stake me. Okay? But now I want my buddy back. My brother from another mother," he paused and saw Alaric's frown slowly melt away a little. "We've had way worse stand between us, haven't we?" He started counting on his fingers, "Isobel…"

His friend raised a hand to stop him. "Let's not get started, okay? I'm tired, it's late - or early," he noted pointedly," I had too much to drink, my second wife just died for the second time, and my kids are with the woman that birthed them and that they call mommy and that at one time I thought I really loved, and now I'm not so sure about that anymore, either."

Damon nodded, and got up. He'd gotten the message. "I'll let you know when your ride gets here," he said and turned around, waving over his shoulder.

"What I'm trying to say," Alaric raised his voice, "is that I could really really use a friend."

Damon stopped in his tracks, his shoulders slumping, ridiculously relieved. A strange warm feeling washed over him as he slowly walked back over to Ric's table and patted the other man on the shoulder.

"Your ride is here," he said, and his friend got up slowly.

They exchanged a long glance, then Ric suddenly hugged Damon rather fiercely, and after Damon's initial awkward surprisedness, he returned it in like manner.

"I'm gonna get married soon," he whispered, "you might want to get in touch with Stefan and throw me an awesome bachelor party."

Ric couldn't help a laugh despite everything going on in his life.

"So that's why you were so keen on making amends…"

Damon wiggled his eyebrows at him, gave him a pat on the back, then led the way out back, to where his car was parked.

"Let's get you home, Ricky."

"Can we agree to not use that as a nickname please?" Ric scoffed as he toddled past the other man rather awkwardly.

"I kinda like it," Damon grinned and Alaric's arms shot up in surrender.

* * *

...

* * *

[ _Three years ago..._ ]

...

After that first time, they had both acted a little shy around each other. Bonnie's cheeks flushed when she saw him next, and his lips curled up into a rather suggestive grin as he said, "Good morning, Bonnie Bennett. I made you some breakfast."

Waffles. He'd made her waffles. From scratch. Not just the box mix. She pushed a strand of unruly curls behind her ear and sat down, acutely aware of the fact that they both were in the almost exact same spots they had been when… She felt herself flush again and looked down on the plate in front of her to cover it up.

"This looks really good. Thank you," she muttered.

"My pleasure."

You could say what you wanted about Lorenzo St. John, but impolite, he was not. He was actually rather… sweet.

He sat down beside her, swiveling in his chair as he watched her eat. She shot him a sideways glance.

"What?" She asked. "Do I have syrup all over my mouth or something?"

"I'm just admiring you, love. You're beautiful."

She raised an eyebrow. Now she knew he was making fun of her.

"I'm wearing flannel pajamas," she stated, with a bite of waffle still in her mouth.

"Your point?"

She glared at him. _Please tell me this wasn't all some elaborate play of his_ , she thought. The next few days, weeks, months, or however long she'd had to hide from Alexandria St. John and her goons could become rather awkward if that was the case.

"You're making fun of me, right?" She asked him, but then she saw the cutest confusion in his face. "You're," she gave a surprised half chuckle, "you actually think I'm beautiful. In my pajamas…"

She was incredulous, and he was oblivious. He nodded, a smile in his eyes.

"If you ever have kids, I hope they'll have your eyes," he told her, and she wasn't sure whether she should smile or frown. Her face tried to combine the two.

It was such a strange thing to say so early. Because this was at best the start of a more intimate relationship, and you simply didn't bring up kids that early in the game. Especially if you were a vampire and couldn't even have kids. So she simply smiled and returned back to her food, wondering all the while what she saw in him. Or, if she even saw anything in him.

…

It was months later when they eventually brought up the topic of kids again.

She told him about Caroline's crazy life as a mom and how unexpected that had been since Caroline hadn't thought she would never be a mom, and how Bonnie had told her that she hoped she'd make it look as easy when she would finally be a mom some day herself.

Bonnie bit her lip, suddenly feeling awful and nervous when she saw the guarded withdrawn expression on his face.

"I'm so sorry. I mean, I don't even know whether you ever wanted to have kids or not, and here I am talking like an insensitive idiot-"

"You want kids," he interrupted her.

She looked at him. It was a statement, but she nodded anyways.

"Yes," she whispered. "Whenever Elena and I would talk about how we picture our lives as grown ups, I always thought there would be at least one kid running around in my home, maybe more," she admitted and grabbed his hand, holding it tight. "I didn't mean to hurt you with this."

"You didn't, love. I just… couldn't bear to see you unhappy because you're stuck with me, who can't have kids."

"I'm stuck with you in the good way, babe," she told him. "You're not getting rid of me so easily. We can adopt, if we want, or… I don't know, find a sperm donor or something." She felt herself flush and chuckled. "Whew, this got awkward fast. I'm sooo sorry," she muttered and fanned herself a little. Her face was burning.

Enzo smiled, but it wasn't a very happy smile, and it made her feel even worse. She wished she'd never brought it up. At least not this early on in their still young relationship.

"I did want kids. Before…" he trailed off, growing quiet for a bit. He sighed, "I never really had a family. And even now…" he was staring out the window. "I wanted my own family. I don't know… I guess I wanted to feel like I belong to someone, _with_ someone, and I wanted to prove to myself that I can do better, better than those who brought me into this world."

Her heart broke a little for him then, and it wouldn't remain the only time it did.

"You do belong with someone, babe," she assured him, forcing him to look at her by turning his face toward her, "you belong with me."

He gave her a sad smile.

"I would have liked to have a child with you, Bonnie Bennett," he muttered, "I'm sorry I won't be able to give you what you always wanted." He paused and his head dropped, "Maybe we should just…"

Her face scrunched up.

"No," she said, strongly. She knew where this was headed. He was going to break up with her over this. She wasn't going to let him.

"I'm not gonna let you get out of this so easily, Enzo," she told him firmly. "Did you hear what I said? You belong with me. - _You_ belong with _me_."

And he'd given her the smallest smile and the biggest kiss in return.

* * *

...

* * *

...

Caroline thought her head was going to explode. Bonnie had called asking her what exactly real contractions were supposed to even feel like, so now she was worried Bonnie was actually in labor. But she couldn't be there for her friend because she'd also promised Damon to help with his stupid - okay, cute - plan to propose to Elena.

Then she also had the kids with her, and Kevin from productions had told her they needed her back at headquarters to discuss something important. They were probably going to fire her! She just knew it.

"Shit shit shit shit shit!" She hissed the expletive as she was put back on hold with the fifth flower shop she had tried to call. "Come on!"

"You're not supposed to say that, mommy."

"I know, sweetie, I'm so sorry," she looked over to where her girls "helped" her decorate by pouring huge amounts of glitter pretty much merely over themselves and she sighed and slumped down on the ground, huffing.

"Is this a bad time?"

She looked up, startled, and found herself staring straight at Jeremy Gilbert. Little Gilbert was really not little at all anymore…

"Jeremy!" She called out a little too shrilly. "Elena told me you were back in town after your parents…" her voice grew quieter and quieter as she realized that maybe his return and his parents' demise weren't actually things they should make a big deal out of. Elena had told her that her little brother had had a bit of a breakdown. Still, she couldn't help but ask with concern, "You holding up alright?"

He grimaced, feeling a little awkward. But the one good thing when talking to someone you've kind of known all your life yet have never been super close with, was that it was sometimes easier to talk about something you kept from others.

"Eh," he muttered, "I guess I'm just ready to be done with people dying on me over and over again…"

She nodded at him, sympathetically. She thought of Jo, and shot a glance at Lizzie and Josie. "I know…" She sighed.

He shrugged.

"I'm," he was contemplating whether he should say it out loud or not. Caroline was looking at him with an understanding friendly smile, her forehead scrunched up a little. He knew she had her own sorrows. He decided to rephrase his half finished thought, "Do you think anything… anything could happen to Elena, or Damon - or _you_ … - because of the stuff Bonnie did?"

Caroline bit her lip. She couldn't say she hadn't thought about it a few times, but then…

"Honestly? I'm trying to ignore it. Maybe because I already messed with whatever Bonnie did." She grinned a little sheepishly. "I mean, look at me, I'm a bit of a train wreck. Here I had the chance to be human again, and the first chance I got, I turned back into a vampire - and now I'm talking to a vampire hunter…"

They both grinned at each other, then their faces turned serious again. Caroline noticed Jeremy bite down hard. He was fighting his own demons. She felt bad for him. He'd always had it especially tough, like all the collateral damage always affected him.

"Yeah," he said, and the sound of that one word made her want to hug him. Except, that would probably be weird.

So she settled on saying, "We'll just have to wait and see. You know, Bonnie said that Kai's spell actually came undone, so I do believe that Elena is fine. And as for us vampires-turned-humans… I'll just hope for the best?" She forced a chuckle, and saw his features soften.

"Probably the way to go," he allowed, then pointed to her girls, "That's a lot of glitter."

She rolled her eyes. "I know. Ugh. I'll probably have to vacuum it all up - but don't tell them I said that!"

He grinned and pretended to seal his lips shut. They both looked at each other for a moment, as if silently agreeing on moving on.

"Damon sent me here." Jeremy finally explained his showing up there. "He said he got something planned and that you could use some help?"

She smiled at him. He looked so out of place that it was almost funny. "Ya, I mean, you can… actually…", she was lost for words. "I'm in over my head! I got nothing done yet and Damon wants to get this whole show running tonight already. I don't even know what to do…"

"Well, I got nothing better to do than help my future brother-in-law look good so… tell me what I can do."

She smiled, gratefully. "You're a godsend, Jeremy Gilbert, do you know that?"

And with that she quickly began to utilize him so that they could get everything done by the time Damon needed them to.

It turned out to be a fun day after all; it took her mind off of things to be occupied with someone else's dream, and the light banter between her and Elena's brother soon felt so natural as if he'd never been gone and they'd always been close.

It was just really… nice.

* * *

...

"Damon…" Elena whined. "I'm getting tired and it's kinda cold, so I'd really rather just head home."

He had taken her out to lunch earlier and told her to pick out a new dress afterward. He had made her wear it right away. He had said he wanted her to get her mind off of things and do something fun again for once. He had said he wanted to give her the best date night she'd had in at least three years. And while it was sweet and she'd had a great day, she was kind of done. She just wanted to snuggle up with him for a bit. Maybe a little more than just snuggle… And then sleep.

But Damon wasn't having any of it.

"Come on, Elena!" He said, "Just for a bit. I know this is not a super romantic end to our super romantic day, but I want to show you something real quick."

Elena had stepped out of the car and looked around her, bewildered.

"I've seen the hospital many times, Damon. And it's not exactly a place to go for a walk or anything…"

"Humor me." He smiled, extending a hand for her to grab. And she did. They were already there, so why not just get it over with. Let Damon have his brief moment, walking the aisles of the hospital with her, showing her his "something." This was where soon, the new slew of students were supposed to be learning, among them one Elena Gilbert.

She would really go down that path, she thought. Her crazy life, with all the crazy things that had happened, had led her to this moment, this place. She would really become a doctor after all.

When they entered the hospital, she fully expected someone to call them out and tell them to leave. But no one seemed to mind. Damon casually draped his arm around her neck and kissed her temple as he swaggered through the building, guiding her over to… the new wing? For one odd moment she wondered whether he'd made a random donation or something and named it the Salvatore wing. She rolled her eyes at herself just as Damon opened a door and pulled some hanging plastic foil out of the way.

What she saw was like out of some other world. There were string lights everywhere, and flowers, all kinds of white flowers, fragrant and so beautiful. It was like a sea of light.

"Damon…" she muttered, smiling over at him, where he smiled right back at her. Was this…?

"Follow me," he mouthed, and so she did, further and further down that canal of light, until at last, they walked into where the new information desk was situated. There were more lights here, and a table with two chairs. A bottle of champagne waited and as Damon ushered her into one of the chairs, a man started playing the piano in the corner where the waiting area would be one day.

"Did you… did you do all this?" she whispered, surprised. And happy. Her gaze fell on the floor around them: it was glittering like crazy.

"I had some help," he told her, smiling as he noticed her expression, "it can come in handy when you know a party planning obsessed girl with two little helping minions."

"Caroline…" She grinned. "Damon, this is wonderful."

He had planned everything. They had a delicious dinner, brought out by a waiter in a tuxedo, they had champagne, they had molten chocolate lava cake… And then?

Damon walked over to her, extending his hand. "May I have this dance?" He asked and smiled at her, and she took his hand and followed him into the middle of the room. The piano player began playing a slow song, and together they waltzed across the room. Like in a fairy tale.

And just when the song was over, Damon did what she'd pictured him do so many times in her dreams, but it was so much better in real life. He dropped down on one knee, looking at her intently, as he took a small something out of his pocket. There was no box, just a ring.

Elena's eyes widened. It didn't technically come as a surprise - because, why else would Damon have put up this show for her? Yet it didn't make it any less breathtaking.

"Elena Gilbert, will you marry me?"

He looked at her, waiting, hoping. Knowing. He still broke into the sweetest deepest smile when she suddenly said, "Yes!"

And she sank down on her knees before he had a chance to get back up again and kissed him fiercely.

* * *

...

 _Thank you all so much. Thanks especially for the proposal suggestions! Thanks ironcrusher for the reminder that Delena love to dance. I had something else pictured first,_ _but settled on this version for the proposal._

 _mlruhol: there might be some scene between Caroline and Kai, we shall see._

 _Anna: we might have to revisit some of Bonnie's changes... there's definitely still uncertainty there._

 _deenew: definitely still need a scene for Bonnie and Enzo. :)_

 _Shadowdancer: you're spot on as always about the impact of death on the returned. Also, I'm just in love with your in depth reviews. :*_


	23. My Bonnie

...

When Stefan had first driven through Mystic Falls after all the time, it had felt like he could finally breathe again. Which was strange; he'd always thought it should be the other way around, that Mystic Falls should feel oppressing and too laden with history. Instead it felt like what it was: home.

His first destination had of course been the house of his family - Damon's house. His brother was the reason why he was back after all.

...

He'd gotten a phone call, rather unexpected, from Elena. She'd told him everything about the proposal, how happy she was, and then she'd suddenly sounded pretty serious when she had told him, "I know he's trying to pretend everything is fine, Stefan, but Damon… he really misses you."

"I miss him, too, Elena," he'd admitted, it was no secret after all.

"Then come back. I know you, Stefan. You're not happy where you are-"

He had grimaced and interrupted her, "Elena, I can't."

"Are you trying to protect her again?" she had asked him and she had hit something in him then. "It's not my place, but… ask yourself, are you doing it because you truly love her, or because of an image you still have of her. Or are you doing it for us? I know how you tick, Stefan. If it's the latter: we can take care of ourselves, and we'd rather have you home." There had been a distinct pause before she'd added, jokingly, "Also, everyone is getting rather tired of Damon's moping…"

He had chuckled then. There was probably some truth to it. A moping Damon could be rather… draining.

…

He wasn't quite sure whether it was because of her call, or because of Damon's a couple of days ago, but he'd suddenly found himself packing, getting ready to leave.

When Damon had opened the door, there had been honest surprise in his face.

"Stefan!" he had exclaimed.

"Hello, brother."

Stefan had smiled and they'd hugged it out for a good long time, until he had seen Elena approach from the back, and he'd given her a hug, too. She had smiled at him knowingly but hadn't said anything about their phone conversation.

It had felt so good to be home, so natural. And he had missed his brother more than he had allowed himself to admit.

They'd all sat together, pointedly avoiding the topic of Katherine, until Elena had urged the brothers to go out and have some "brotherly fun," while she wanted to head out for one last girls' night with Bonnie and Caroline before the baby got there.

"Still no baby?" Stefan had grinned, and it had been Damon scolding him and advising, "Don't let Bon hear that! She's got enough on her plate and doesn't need your snarky comments."

Stefan had marveled at his brother then. Who'd have ever thought that Damon Salvatore would be looking out for someone else like that, especially for Bonnie. It was really quite amazing. This was what he'd always hoped for, for his brother to find peace and find that kind soul again that he'd had before Stefan… well, before he'd managed to ruin his brother's life.

...

Now they all sat together at the bar - Alaric and Enzo had come along - and he watched them all interact, listened to their brotherly banter and was amazed at how great Damon's life had turned out to be without him there.

"You okay there, brother?" Damon jolted him out of his thoughts and Stefan nodded.

"Ya, of course. I…"

"I think he needs another drink!" Alaric proclaimed and was already waving Matt over before Stefan had a chance to decline. He sighed. He was already starting to feel the booze.

In the end Stefan was rather grateful to have a vampire be part of their party, because both Damon and Ric were so ridiculously wasted that they pretty much collapsed on the floor - or table in his brother's case.

Stefan himself was pretty hammered, but still standing. He exchanged a look with Enzo after Damon's head had thudded down hard onto the wood, and wordlessly they decided to call it a night.

Enzo was the one taking care of getting them all back home in one piece before heading back to Bonnie. Before he went on his way, Stefan stopped him on the doorstop of the boarding house to thank him.

"Thanks, man," he simply said, and Enzo smirked mildly.

"You should get him a bucket," the vampire suggested, nodding inside to where Damon now lay on the couch. "Still hasn't caught up with him that he's human now…"

Stefan grinned a little awkwardly. Somehow, banter with Enzo didn't come easy. It was still kind of weird for him to interact with the other man. He'd torn Enzo's heart out twice - well, one had been a suicide of sorts, but still. The second time had also initiated a slew of nightmares that Stefan felt responsible for. If he hadn't turned off his humanity and killed Enzo, Bonnie would have never blasted her magic uncontrolled into the orbit, after all.

Then again, he had only been in that situation because of something Damon and Enzo had gotten themselves into to begin with… so there was that.

He shook his head. That kind of thinking didn't ever lead anywhere. He knew that, but sometimes it was just easier to defer the blame. At least a little bit. Or he might not be able to live with himself...

Enzo also shared a rather dark past with Damon. And there weren't many people Damon loved enough to turn his humanity off for in order to deal - or more like, not deal - with his feelings for them, but Enzo had been one of them. Quite an awkward distinction, but a distinction nonetheless. It made Stefan feel kind of… jealous? Was that really it?

As soon as Enzo turned around with a half wave goodbye of the hand, Stefan closed the door. He shook his head as if to clear it. He couldn't quite get past the other man's guard. They tolerated each other, yes, but mostly for Damon's sake. Or so Stefan thought. He had absolutely no idea how Enzo viewed it all.

"You guys _really_ liked the booze tonight, huh?"

Stefan turned to see Elena sit by Damon on the couch.

"Sorry if we woke you up," he grinned sheepishly, then said, "we may have enjoyed a few glasses of that bourbon Damon keeps around…"

Elena nodded, smiling.

He walked over to where Damon lay splayed out on the couc, where she smiled and kissed the lucky bastard before asking Stefan about their night.

It was funny, he thought now, how much like Katherine she was, yet so very different. He'd loved Elena at some point. But he'd since learned that what he'd loved about her was his vision of how he'd wished Katherine could be.

But Katherine couldn't be changed. He sighed. What had he gotten himself into? There seemed to be no going back and no going forth. He couldn't live with nor without Katherine.

Damon had yet again implored him to leave her and just come live at the old home again, but Stefan couldn't possibly do that. His brother was going to get married soon, and then they'd probably start a family at some point down the road. And he didn't want to be weird old bachelor uncle Stefan.

He sighed. What then, was he supposed to do? He hadn't brought Katherine, although she had begged to come. Thankfully, she had for once listened to him when he'd told her - again - how she'd messed with too many people and how that meant they would just go berserk if they saw her.

She had pouted. Naturally. But she'd settled on saying "fine" and had gone on a trip to New York "to lift her spirits."

...

It was the next morning when he heard another familiar voice.

"Stefan?"

He had decided he needed to clear the fog in his hungover head a little by going for a walk. He hadn't paid much attention to where his feet carried him - or maybe he just tried to tell himself he hadn't; and suddenly he found himself by the playground, staring into Caroline's wide eyes.

"Caroline…" he said. "Hello. I didn't know-"

"The girls like to hang out here in the afternoon," she explained, interrupting him. "I'm… we're keeping them at home for now."

She smiled; he smiled too. It was really good to see her…

"How's that going?" he asked, not because he was super into parenting all of a sudden, rather, he didn't know what else to say. Their parting hadn't been exactly smooth.

"Oh, you know… it's going…" She paused, her face was scrunching up a bit, and Stefan saw that worry-mound between her eyebrows appear. "They fired me," she blurted out suddenly, startling him a bit. "My work? Said I didn't seem to be into it very much anymore and that I couldn't just come and go as I pleased. - As if that's what I did! I mean, I couldn't exactly explain to them what was going on here, and that my kids' mom just died for the second time and that their weird king-of-hell-uncle decided he wants to be a part of their lives and…"

She was rambling and she noticed it, covering her hand with her mouth. "I'm sorry," she muttered, "it's not what you asked."

But he smiled at her, understanding, and replied, "It kind of is. Come on, if you don't mind, I'll sit down with you for a bit and you can pour your heart out. And then, maybe…"

"You can pour yours out in turn?" She suggested, and he was more than grateful that she had been so welcoming, that she hadn't thrown Katherine in his face, or the fact that he had pretty much run away from everything, leaving them all to deal with Katherine's mess by themselves.

"Yeah," he whispered and walked over to sit down with her on the little bench, from where they could watch the little girls play in the sand.

* * *

...

"This is not fair!" Bonnie was annoyed. Of course she had to be one of those first time moms that went way over the usual 40 weeks of pregnancy.

How was that even possible?! With all the added stress from being the anchor to the new Other Side and everything, you should think that she'd gone into labor two weeks ago. Guiding Elena's mom, her dad, and Jo over had taken a huge emotional toll on her after all, and had also physically exhausted her.

Had it not been for Enzo taking care of her, she wouldn't have made it off the couch for anything at all.

She was now at 41 weeks and one day of her pregnancy - 37 weeks and two days of which she'd had to be without her boyfriend - and the doctor had just informed her that it was time to cajole baby out a bit. The baby's amniotic fluid was running a bit low and it was time to get him out. They'd induce her.

Bonnie was suddenly terrified. She'd died, she'd lost people, she'd been a huntress and an anchor twice over, she was a powerful witch, she'd dealt with the worst threats, and she was terrified of having that baby.

She implored Enzo with her eyes, begging him to somehow make it be over already, but of course he could only look at her apologetically and assured her he wouldn't let her do this alone.

After all, he couldn't exactly birth the baby for her.

...

"I'm so sorry, love," he whispered hours later, when the induction had made her have a crazy storm of contractions and she could barely go on anymore.

Suddenly the baby's heart rate started dipping with every new wave of pain. Bonnie looked panicked from her OB to Enzo when the doctor explained to her that a c-section would now have to be baby's way out into the world.

"I'm sorry, Ms. Bennett, but it's taking too long. If the baby was a little closer to being born we could still let you try it naturally. But you've only dilated four centimeters in the last five hours. And that's simply too long for the little one."

She was crying by then, terrified and lost, but also a tiny bit relieved that someone was finally taking charge; and that the pain would stop.

Why wasn't there something a witch could do against that, anyways? Grams would probably have said something like, "Because it's nature's way." Bonnie rolled her eyes and almost laughed at the thought, before a sudden sadness overcame her. Grams should be there. Or at least her mom…

But Enzo was with her and he wouldn't go anywhere. It was all that really mattered.

Outside, Damon and Elena waited, because she'd wanted them there. For herself, and for Enzo. In case anything happened that was outside their control…

She hadn't told Enzo that, but she had had a weird feeling the last few nights. When she hadn't been able to get much rest yet again and her mind had gone crazy. She had thought that maybe her life would be coming to an end while she'd give birth to another. And it had scared her.

Enzo had picked up on her uneasiness, but she had assured him it was just the exhaustion and anxiety. She didn't want to worry him because she had some weird feelings.

But then, when she lay on the operating table, unable to feel her legs anymore, shaking horribly from the anesthesia and feeling the harsh tugs as they tore and pulled to get her baby out, the feeling was back, stronger than ever. She looked to where Enzo sat next to her, wearing a funny little plastic cap over his hair just like she did, and she smiled, though she wanted to cry.

"That's a good look for you," she whispered, trying to lighten her own mood, and he smiled at her. She could sense it, though, that there was something darker hidden behind his expression.

"I need more gauze!" Someone suddenly called out and everything got louder around her, more hectic. She zoomed in on Enzo, asking, "What's going on?"

She felt his grip on her hand tighten. "It'll be alright, love," he said, but it didn't sound so sure.

There were now even more people in scrubs bustling around her than before and then…

A cry. A baby's beautiful first gasp of air and shock upon entering the ice cold world outside the womb. Bonnie knew they were going to place the little guy on her chest now so she could snuggle and bond with him while they stitched her back up.

But when that didn't happen, and she saw Enzo's face turn more and more concerned as he masked obvious agitation, she started panicking.

"Am I… am I dying?" She choked out, and felt his breath on her face as he leaned in close. "I need you to concentrate on staying with me, love. Our baby is healthy. But now you need to concentrate on yourself. I'm right here with you..."

"Is the baby…"

"He's fine, Bonnie. A beautiful healthy boy. You'll get to see him soon."

But she wasn't so sure. She was not sure at all.

"It's happening, isn't it?" She was crying, still shaking uncontrollably, and she wasn't sure whether it was still just from the anesthesia of something else. Something worse.

"I was so afraid this would happen," she whined and Enzo frowned, but before he could reply anything, someone shoved him to the side and tried to escort him out.

"No!" she heard him hiss. "I'll stay with her. - Bonnie!"

Then she felt her vision start to blur and she called his name. Again and again, and again. Until…

…

No no no no no. This could not be happening. Enzo was torn between the incredible joy of having become a father and losing his child's mother. Bonnie couldn't die. She couldn't. He wouldn't know how to go on without her. She was everything.

But now he had a child, too, a child that he couldn't just leave alone. He'd have to stick around, if only for his baby's sake. He wouldn't ever leave that poor little guy alone.

His throat constricted. The strong smell of blood made it hard for him to rein in his feral vampire side as he stood to the side, letting the doctors do their thing. There was a hemorrhage…

Enzo felt like he couldn't breathe. Like time stood still. There were a million images of torture flickering through his mind only to stop right here, with Bonnie lying dying on a table. She was dying like he'd died a thousand times over. It was cold and lonely and painful, and nothing he'd ever wish on anyone, least of all his girl.

Time slowed down. He saw a nurse's face start falling, he heard someone yell, "We're losing her!"

It was so very cold.

"Bonnie, stay with me," someone implored her, "stay with me. Stay with me. Stay!" And he realized that it was him.

"We should call it."

"She just had a baby. Let's give it one more try."

"It's too late."

It was then that he knew there was no other way. His last chance. And even if she'd hate him forever, he couldn't not try…

So he sped forward, tore open his wrist and let his blood drip into her mouth, not caring who was there and how they stared at him, panicked and in shock. Some screamed, most ran away immediately, but he didn't care.

He knew he'd have to pull himself together, and fast. There was no time. So he took a deep breath and ran over to where a scared frozen nurse stood with his baby and he told her, "You'll give me my baby now and leave. None of this ever happened."

And she did. What to do about all the others that had run; he'd have to cross that bridge when he got there. Right now it didn't matter.

He held their baby tight against his body, then sat down next to Bonnie. He bent down, kissing her, leaning his forehead against hers. He closed his eyes and waited.

"I'm so sorry, love," he muttered and it felt like he'd told her that too many times already.

He heard the monitor continue to flatline into eternity.

* * *

…

Damon and Elena came running in as soon as they saw the OR team leave. It didn't need a genius to deduct that something bad had happened. But it needed two ex-vampires to immediately realize that a vampire's doing was probably the reason everyone was running.

"Bonnie?"

"Bon?"

Elena and Damon called out her name simultaneously as they slowed down upon reaching the OR. There was a lot of blood on the floor; gauze and operating tools lay haphazardly strewn across the room.

"Bonnie?" Elena's shocked voice came out as a hushed whisper. Her hand flew over her mouth when her eyes fell on her best friend's prone figure. "Oh my god, oh no…"

The young woman was unmistakably dead. Bonnie Bennett, her best friend. Tears filled Elena's eyes quickly. She exchanged a look with Damon, saw her pain mirrored in his face, but also saw him motion over to where Enzo was sitting as still as a statue, with a little something wiggling and crying in his arms.

"Enzo…" Damon said, his voice calm and even. He slowly approached his friend, he knew that a single too rash movement could set him off. "Enzo? Why don't we get out of here and get you and your baby-"

"I gave her my blood." Enzo suddenly straightened. He didn't look at Damon, only stared at his son.

"You… what?" Damon knew he'd heard it right. It still came as a shock. Bonnie Bennett had never wanted to be a vampire. She'd hated vampires for the longest time. She'd especially hated him. Damon almost smiled. "You are turning Bon Bon the vampire hater into a vampire?" He couldn't help the smirk appearing on his face. It was just a little too… funny.

Enzo glared at him then, and so did Elena. "Damon," she warned him, shaking her head, and he shrugged apologetically.

"You don't get to judge me, Damon," Enzo snarled, and Damon saw it for what it was, Enzo's defense mechanism. His friend was lashing out again. Because that was what he did when he thought he was losing someone, when he thought he'd lost control. When he was vulnerable…

"I'm not," he said, holding up his hands in a gesture of peace. "How could I ever judge you, Lorenzo? I understand." And because he knew that the other man needed to hear it, he added, "So will Bonnie. That woman loves you like crazy. Don't tear yourself up because you love her the same way and did what you had to do."

At that moment, Enzo's tears finally came. Damon had no idea how exactly he managed it, but he got Enzo to hand Elena the baby, while he then grabbed his friend and pulled him in for a hug. They stood a long time like that, with the dead Bonnie right next to them. Eventually, Damon got Enzo to sit down and they waited by Bonnie's side until she woke up.

Elena had quickly called Caroline to help with the mess Enzo had involuntarily created. She was now quite busy compelling a lot of people while they all waited for Bonnie.

Until finally...

...

Bonnie shot up with a gigantic gasp for air, as if she came up out of deep water after drowning. She looked around her, wild eyed, and clasped her throat. Then her eyes fell on Enzo and the baby that Elena had at some point returned into his arms.

Enzo's eyes were bloodshot.

She scrunched up her face, tears coming. It was real then. She had died.

Strangely, she felt like she had let him down and she apologized.

"Enzo, I'm so sorry, I…"

He'd gotten up to hold her, but when he heard her words, a choked laugh escaped him.

"You got nothing to apologize for, Bonnie Bennett." He helped her drape the sheet more around herself, then gently handed her the baby. She looked at him, her perfect little son, and her eyes welled up anew.

"Hello, baby," she whispered, and held the tiny human close to her. In a corner of her mind she knew what was going on, but a part of her still tried to block it out. She smiled at Enzo. But he had put some distance between them.

"Enzo?" She was frowning when she saw him clench his jaw, when she saw that look on his face before he turned away from her.

"I couldn't let you die, love." His voice sounded the saddest she'd ever heard it.

It finally sank in completely. "But I did, didn't I?" She whispered.

It took him a while before he silently nodded and looked down on the ground. There was still so much blood there. She sighed and it hurt her throat. Her tears ran down her cheeks. "Okay," she muttered. "Okay…"

He still didn't move. Bonnie was so sad for him suddenly, so overwhelmingly sad and sympathetic. She hoisted her legs over the edge and slowly slid off the table, a firm grasp on her beautiful little baby - their baby.

She stepped right in front of Enzo and cupped his chin, still a little awkward with the weight of life in her arms and her legs all wobbly, her stomach empty and numb - after all she did just have major abdominal surgery - and she told him, "It's okay."

"I couldn't let you die," he breathed. No more, and he broke down crying as she pulled him closer against her.

* * *

...

Later, after Bonnie had had some time to clean up and rest and try to feed her baby, she tried to joke about it all, to make it easier on Enzo. And herself.

"At least this happened in time for me to heal without a scar... And it'll be easy to make the transition with so much blood around here," she noted, sitting up in bed, but Enzo stared out the window gravely and she knew he couldn't forgive himself yet.

He'd turned her: Bonnie Bennett, who had never even liked vampires to begin with. And now she would be one.

Bonnie looked at him with so much love, but he felt like he didn't deserve it. He felt like he had somehow betrayed her.

"I'm sorry, love, I really am. I… got scared."

This big strong alpha male vampire had gotten scared… for her. Bonnie felt more love wash over her, but before she could say anything he continued, "I did it because I was selfish, and because I love you too much. I couldn't let you go."

"Enzo…"

He looked at her, throat working. He clenched his teeth, rubbed a hand over his eyes. "I'll understand if you don't want to… if you can't be with me after… everything."

"I…" Bonnie started before his words had actually processed, then, when they did, she blurted, "What?! No! Enzo, sweetheart, I understand. Okay? I understand." She looked for the right way to say it, his dark eyes on her. "I mean, I won't be fooling anyone, this will be tough for me. But, Enzo, I'm glad you gave me the gift of seeing our son grow up. Of living my life with you. - And I'm so so glad that it was you."

He grimaced at her, but Bonnie could tell that she'd finally gotten through to him. She saw new tears form in his eyes, just as there was a knock on the door, and he quickly stood up and faced the window.

Men, she thought, but with a warm feeling of love.

The door was opened and Elena poked her head in. Bonnie could see Damon hover behind her.

"Let's give them some privacy," she heard him urge his fiancée, but Elena shushed him.

"Can I just… are you guys alright? I just wanted to make sure you know that if you need anything, we're here for you."

Bonnie gestured for her to come inside, and her best friend was quickly by her side, giving her a gentle hug.

"He is the sweetest little baby!" Elena exclaimed, "Does he have a name yet?"

"James Ewan Bennett-St. John," Bonnie said quietly and looked down on her now sleeping newborn son. She knew he'd soon be up again, screaming for something, but right now he was blissfully out and she got to wallow in his beauty. "A name without baggage," she added quietly, and Elena squeezed her hand briefly, understanding.

Bonnie shot Enzo a glance and mouthed an 'I love you.'

And he finally smiled at her and did the same.

* * *

...

 _This one was so difficult to write. Let me know if I botched it. I had a first version written and then had to do some major editing before it felt even half right. Anyways._

 _As always: Thanks for the feedback!_

 _Guest: I know, the scene with Jo was hard. - I'm happy you're still enjoying this and liked the scenes with Bonnie and Enzo. Those are my personal favorite to write. :)_

 _Shadowdancer: Yes! I love all the friendships Damon has, actually. They're all so exciting. Because they're not easy, they confront him with who he was and who he is, Alaric and him always had a special connection. I'm also a fan of Bonnie and Damon as friends, and, well, him and Enzo. :) As for Bonenzo: yes, I so wish they'd given us more. I honestly grew to love them together so much. But my initial reaction upon that first kiss of theirs we saw in the flash forward was: how did we get there? And what they showed us wasn't really enough, or all that convincing. So I was hoping to kind of help with that, help people see how it could have gone while doing both characters justice. I'll let you and others be the judges of how I'm doing. :)_


	24. With or Without You

...

With a loud exhalation Caroline finally slumped down on the couch at home. She was ridiculously exhausted.

After chasing down almost a whole hospital staff, including a few patients here and there that had already picked up on the rumors of a vampire in the building, she had been ready to call it a day. But then she'd also had to take care of her daughters, and as was typical of small children, they hadn't cared one bit that mommy was tired and wanted to rest.

So she had ended up taking them to the ice cream parlor - big mistake - to hang out with Stefan for a bit while he was still in town. That had left her with two girls on a sugar high and a surely false hope that maybe she and Stefan might still have a chance. She shook her head, and buried her face in her hands. Why did she do this to herself?

The kids were finally in bed, she had helped Alaric tuck them in, but then she had left to go home and now here she was, tired and alone. It sucked to be a part time mom.

She sighed. Elena was going to get married soon. Bonnie just had her baby - and turned into a vampire.

She felt left out. She knew it was pathetic and selfish. But when both your best friends were moving on and experiencing such exciting things - involving a significant other - a girl could be excused wishing for a special someone for herself. Right? Why did this have to be so difficult? Why did Stefan have to come back? She knew she couldn't really have him. He was human now and couldn't be turned because of the cure.

Alaric was super sweet and a little clueless, just as usual. But boyfriend material?

She rolled her neck and pulled her legs up. This kind of screamed for some cheesy TV show and popcorn. Except, she also didn't have any food in the house. Two lonely bloodbags were all that was left. She made up her mind. She didn't want to be alone, she didn't have to be alone. She would just go and hang out with a friend. And since her girlfriends were both busy having actual lives involving other people, she decided she'd go over to the Lockwood mansion and see whether good old dependable Matt was home.

It turned out that he was, she soon realized, but he was not alone at all…

"Jeremy!" Caroline started as she saw Elena's brother open the door. "What are you doing here?" She knew it didn't sound very friendly, but she couldn't take the words back.

Jeremy laughed. "Well, what are _you_ doing here?" he asked her in return, but opened the door wider so that she could walk in past him.

"Is Matt…"

"He's here, ya, but I made the mistake of bringing my, uh, 'coworker' with me and now they kinda only seem to have eyes for each other," he chuckled, "I guess this time you're the godsend. Please save me from a night spent as the third wheel."

Oh, Caroline thought. She felt a bit awkward when she realized that part of the reason she had come all the way out here was that she had been sure Matt would be alone. So that he could pay attention to her…

"So…," she began, searching for words, "does that mean I'm in a house with two vampire hunters now?"

"We only hunt the bad ones." Jeremy suddenly looked serious, strangely so.

Caroline playfully slapped him, then followed him deeper into the big building. She caught a glimpse of Matt in the living room, half laying on the couch, entwined with a wiry redhead.

"Oh," she made, and Jeremy rolled his eyes.

"Yeah, I've kind of been hiding out in the backyard. It's a bit cold, but," he cleared his throat, "I promised Amber I'd drive her back over to her hotel. She, uh, she initially came here to… visit me."

"Check on you, you mean?" Caroline bit her lip. Why did she always do something like that? Talk before she'd finished thinking. Jeremy looked a little embarrassed, then nodded.

"I guess…"

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to put you on the spot or anything. I just figured you'd be expected to return somewhere, and, well, you've stayed here a while now. So…" She smiled warmly at him.

They'd reached the backyard. There was a nice large bench with a blanket, and the fire in the pit was going. There was a pretty used looking thick journal lying open on the small wire table by the side.

"Yeah, I know. The cool kids use their phones and tablets," he grinned, but sobered when Caroline picked the book up and flipped to the first page.

"Vampirism and The Soul. A Study on Vampire Emotions and Pain Tolerance," she read and grimaced, then looked at Jeremy. "This has been used a lot…"

He was quick to say," Not by me, if that's what you were wondering. I just discovered it with a few of my dad's things… I don't know where he kept it before, since it wasn't with those other things we had found before. We found it at that… place."

"Please tell me you didn't let those people go, Jer," Caroline interrupted him and he looked at her, appalled.

"What?! No, geez. No."

"Good," she said, then, "What exactly is it about? And try to give me the PG version."

He cleared his throat. Running a hand through his hair and grimacing, he contemplated what to tell her, and started, "It's…" He didn't know how best to say it. "It's mostly about Enzo; there's some stuff about Damon. A few other names..."

Caroline stared at him. Shocked, disgusted. "They wrote a book about it? About what they did to them?!" She looked ready to punch something, then took a deep breath to calm herself down. "And you're casually reading it by a fire," she stated; it was not a question.

He rubbed his temple, "I know, I know. I was… I was thinking of bringing it over to them, you know, Bonnie and Enzo. But."

"That'd be kind of awkward?"

He looked at her, scrutinizing her.

"Something like that."

"Right."

Suddenly she felt a lot colder. This was not exactly the kind of light conversation she had hoped for. There was a book about her best friends' boyfriends' - her friend's - horrific traumatic past experiences. And Jeremy was reading it. She wasn't sure what that meant, and she wasn't sure whether it was just because she was a vampire, too, but she felt violated on her fellow vampires' behalfs.

He looked at her, unsure. "I'm not reading it for 'pleasure,' you know that, right?"

They were both still standing there, neither of them had moved to sit down. It was as if Caroline's discovery of the journal had somehow frozen everything. Caroline raised her eyebrows and crossed her arms. She gave Jeremy a long look, trying to see more behind his guarded expression.

"What then are you reading it for?" she finally asked and she saw him take a deep breath.

"I… needed to see what my dad's part in all of this was. I needed to see what kind of a man he was." He paused, his expression lost and upset, "You know," he continued, his voice gravelly, "Elena, she can at least say that she isn't his biological child. But I have no excuse and I… I don't know, I guess I want to make sure that I'm not somehow following in his footsteps. I'm already a vampire hunter, which is kind of crazy considering who I've called my friends - and family. But… What if I have _that_ in me, Caroline? What if I…"

He broke off and she suddenly understood. "Jer, don't do that to yourself. We've not exactly been super close, but you're my best friend's little brother and I know you. You are a sweet soul, Jeremy Gilbert. You won't turn into your father." She looked at him, she touched his arm lightly to make him look at her, "Whatever made him do those things, it's _not_ your destiny. It's not genetic. Okay?"

He nodded, but she could see that he wasn't convinced. This was going to be a long night…

"Come on, let's sit down a bit," she finally suggested and went over to the bench. Reluctantly, he followed and sat down next to her.

There they sat silently for a long time…

* * *

...

It was a pretty quiet evening - again. Nothing exciting was happening; nothing involving any supernatural occurrences, and not even anything "humanly exciting." With Elena having started studying again, Damon sat alone in the big house, moping.

He'd said goodbye to Stefan earlier, who was now on his way back to stupid Katherine, and Damon was left to pace his home alone.

Apparently today was not a good day for him. He had one or two of those a month. In those moments, his changed life situation suddenly caught up with him and he had a hard time figuring out how to be a normal human again.

He sighed. It was not like he wasn't happy, because he was. He had Elena, he was going to marry her in roughly six months. They had agreed to give it that much time. That way, Caroline would have enough time helping them plan an amazing event.

They didn't want to do the one year engagement thing. Because that was just ridiculously old fashioned, and they simply couldn't wait that long.

Being happy still didn't mean that giving up his exhilarating dangerous lifestyle was always easy. Today he just really kinda missed it. So when the doorbell unexpectedly rang, he was almost excited to see who it was. And that excitement grew when he spotted Alaric Saltzman with a six pack of beer and a tired looking grin in front of his door.

"Can I interest you in some beer and guy talk?" he said, and Damon reciprocated the grin.

"Guy talk, huh? Does that mean girl trouble?" he queried and earned himself a glare that he happily ignored. "Come on in, Professor," he motioned him inside, "let's open those precious bottles."

With a sigh and a hanging head, Ric folllowed him through to the living room, where both men quickly slumped down into the cushions of opposing couches. Alaric opened one bottle with the help of the other while Damon eyed him curiously.

"You know, I have a bottle opener or two. No need to go all frat boy style."

Alaric grimaced, then grinned. "Right. Sorry. I'm… not thinking straight lately."

"Jo? Or Caroline? Or the little princesses?" Damon asked and grabbed a beer from his friend to take a first sip.

"Where's Elena?" Ric looked at him as if he needed a go ahead. He wouldn't talk shop if Elena was around so it must be about Caroline, Damon figured.

"Hospital. So… what's going on with Alaric Saltzman?"

The other man hung his head. He rubbed his eyes with one hand, squeezing his thumb and index finger into them as if to gauge them out. Damon cocked his head. "That bad?"

"It's just… I don't know. The whole thing with Jo threw me off for a while, but lately I feel like… you know, I want the girls to have a happy family, I always knew there would be no chance for 'conventional' family life, but… I don't know-"

"You still love Caroline, and she still doesn't love you." It was that simple. Yet Damon knew all too much that it really wasn't actually all that simple when you were in such a situation.

Ric looked at him. "I'm pathetic, I know. Which is why I'm here. I need distraction and perspective. - Tell me how human life is treating you."

…

There was a long pause before Damon finally decided that, if anyone, Ric would be the one to understand him.

He sighed. "I miss it, you know?"

Both men took a sip. Alaric nodded, but didn't say anything.

"I mean," Damon continued, "I should be glad. I get to be human without having needed the cure. I get to be human with my girl and I'm getting married in six months! I got the bar, which may not be super profitable yet, but we're also not losing money and it keeps me busy." He paused, thinking.

"It's not enough, eh? You miss the freedom. The adventure. The shady characters."

Damon had to grin. "You get me, Ricky. Just as always."

Alaric flinched at the nickname. "Can we just… can you please stop using that name?"

Damon rolled his eyes. "I'm telling you about my troubles with adjusting to mundane human life, and you are whining about mundane things?"

"Ya ya…" Ric, in turn, rolled his eyes, but soon they were back to serious talk and on to their second bottles.

"Do you want to go back? To being a vampire?"

"Nah. I mean. It's not what Elena wants, and my life is with her now. I've lived a good long life and while the not aging part is pretty awesome, it can get tiring. But…" Damon bit the inside of his lip. This was hard to admit. He wasn't sure he should. Then again, this was Ric… "This probably sounds stupid, but I always kinda pictured me and Stefan going through all this together. Of course chances were pretty much nonexistent that we'd even both get to be human again, and then at the same time, too, so we lucked out there, thanks to Bon Bon…" He trailed off and caught his friend's sympathetic stare.

"But instead of figuring life out here with you, he's doing it with Katherine."

That name. Damon scowled at hearing it. It was enough of an answer for Ric. He handed Damon the third bottle, then asked, "Did you ever tell him that?"

"Of course not! I don't want it to get to his head! You know how he likes to pretend he's the center of the universe and the sole reason for both my misery and my happiness. So, no. And I don't plan on changing that."

Alaric took his friend in. Damon was staring at his bottle, but not drinking anymore. Whatever he tried to make himself believe, Ric knew that Stefan was kind of right. Damon's state of happiness always had a lot to do with his brother. He sighed.

"Time for a glass of bourbon to wash this beer down?"

"Nah," Damon made, surprising the other man. "I think I'm good. I don't want to be completely wasted when Elena gets home later. She's having a long night and I totally plan on making her my famous pancakes for breakfast. - But I'll pour you one?"

Ric smiled. All was definitely not lost yet with Damon Salvatore.

"That's alright," he grumbled, "I should probably head home anyways. Caroline is watching the girls tonight, but I'll have to take over in the morning. And I got a class, so…" He got up to leave, then grinned at his friend.

"You'll be alright, Damon. I know you will. Just give it time."

"You too, Professor. You too…"

* * *

...

When Stefan had gotten ready for his trip to Mystic Falls, Katherine had been upset. Upset that he didn't want her to come, upset that he had a life outside of their shared one, upset that he got to go out at all.

So she had packed a suitcase full of stuff and gotten ready to go to New York.

"I'll have to do something to lift my spirits while you're out strolling through your old home turf," she'd announced and was gone before he'd even been able to say anything. There hadn't even been a kiss goodbye, a detail that she regretted immensely now.

New York was fun. It was big, bustling with life. It was bright and dark and dangerous all at the same time. And it offered her a random sense of peace that she hadn't had back in that small town with Stefan.

Or even before, in Mystic Falls. Or anywhere.

This, then, could become her city.

She had made a decision. Three nights ago. She had gotten off the phone with Stefan and she had realized something.

She always loved him. She always would. But deep down, she loved herself just a tad bit more… She was aware that that wasn't necessarily a great character trait, and she wouldn't tell anyone that point blank. But it was what it was. It was who _she_ was.

She wanted to be loved, yes! She thrived around men - and women - devoting themselves to her, giving themselves up for her. She wallowed in the attention of men fighting for her attention. It had been part of the reason why she'd gotten herself entangled with those handsome Salvatore brothers to begin with.

But what she needed to be happy was more than that.

She couldn't shake the feeling that she wasn't meant for a boring happy small town life, as the girlfriend or fiancée or wife of an auto mechanic.

Katharina Petrova - Katherine Pierce - was meant for power. And power she'd find. Here, in New York.

…

So when Stefan came home after a good long stay at his brother's, he found the drawers empty, the reach-in-closet cleared out but for his few belongings, the TV repaired and with a post-it saying, "I'm sorry I broke it," and a sealed envelope that he couldn't bring himself to read just yet.

He had given up everything to be with her. Again. And she had left him.

Katherine Pierce was gone.

* * *

...

After the first few days, Bonnie felt like she was finally getting the hang of being a vampire. But not of being a mom.

James was crying so much, nothing seemed to console him, unless she carried him around all day. She couldn't breastfeed him because she was a vampire, and she was always so afraid she'd break his little limbs when she tried to put a diaper and new clothes on him.

So after the first two weeks of little sleep and lots of baby crying, she finally broke down crying, and Enzo, who had been working, came home to her weeping unshowered mess and gave her a look so full of love and compassion that it just made her cry even harder.

"I'm so sorry," was all she could say for a while, as he sat down next to her immediately, giving her a sideways hug and holding her there.

"I feel like I'm failing. Maybe I just wasn't meant to be a mother. I can't breastfeed him - and I always thought that that's what I'd be doing. Now the stupid formula makes him all gassy and he's just crying so much. I can't do anything right. I still don't know how to change a diaper properly without it taking 15 minutes. I haven't done laundry for over a week, and I haven't showered since the day before yesterday!" She was rambling, she couldn't stop.

But then she felt his hands on her cheeks and his kiss in her hair, before he moved to gently take little Jamey from her, and said, "You're doing amazing, love. Especially considering it's only been two weeks since you had a baby, died, and came back. I'm so sorry you don't get to breastfeed him like you wanted, but that does not make you less of a mother. Look at him. He's thriving. He got all your love, your everything." He looked at her, wiping away her tears, and smiled.

"I'm sorry I wasn't here enough… Let me talk to Damon and sort out a better plan for work. - But for now, I got him, love, we'll have some father - son time, while you get some much needed rest."

She looked at him, how he was cradling their baby, so naturally, as if he was born to be a dad. His dark hair, dark eyes, that smile on his face… he was so handsome, yet what made him the sexiest man alive to her was how great he was as a father.

She kissed him, then made her way to the shower, finally. A few blissful moments to herself. "Take all the time you need, love," he called to her at some point. And she did.

…

Hours later she woke up with a start, panicking. She shot a quick glance at her phone, it was ten hours later. Ten hours! And the middle of the night. She slept through at least four feedings, she was the worst mother on the planet!

But when she got to the living room, she found James in freshly laundered clean smelling footie pajamas, sleeping splayed out on his dad, who, in turn, had closed his eyes, but was singing a very quiet song to his baby, an empty baby bottle lying beside them on the couch.

There was a basket of folded laundry by his feet, and he'd set up a make shift changing station with a bathtowel on the floor, some wipes and a diaper pail.

She felt like her heart was going to explode with love. How on earth had she managed to get that man to be hers? How had she not known that this was in him?

She remembered the first few interactions she'd had with him, how he had annoyed her. Now here he was, with her, the most beautiful person she had ever seen.

When she got closer, he opened his eyes without changing his position.

"I know this is not considered a safe sleeping situation," he apologized, "but it seemed to be the only way he'd actually stop crying and sleep."

"I know," she muttered as she sat down next to her little family, smiling, and she gently kissed them both.

"He's just had a bottle, but you must be starving… I got some more bloodbags. They're in the freezer..." He made a face at her, but she smiled at him mildly. While it was slowly getting better, he still didn't quite forgive himself for turning her.

"I hope you got some rest," he muttered, and he sounded very tired himself.

"Ten hours." She sounded proud. Smiling, she told him, "Your turn, babe. You worked all night and then took care of the baby, let me take over again now."

"I'm good," he muttered, "besides, I don't want him to wake up just yet…" But she could tell that he was fighting sleep. She sighed. She knew James was not the only reason why he did…

"Let me just… drink something and then I'll sit with you, okay?" She therefore said, and he smiled at her, nodding.

She'd be watching over both of them while they got at least a few more minutes of sleep.

"I love you, Lorenzo St. John. Thank you for being so great," she muttered later, when she thought he was asleep, but he still heard her and muttered, "I love you, Bonnie Bennett."

* * *

...

* * *

...

 **Six months from now**

...

Damon was sitting at a table at his bar. Opposite him, Matt was trying to explain something about some numbers not adding up, some debt they'd need to pay soon, or maybe someone needed to pay _them_? Damon couldn't quite follow. He was really looking forward to Enzo returning to help them with accounting. Which, hopefully, he'd soon do.

"Are you listening?" Matt scowled as Damon was jolted out of his thoughts.

Damon was staring at the other man, suddenly deeply mesmerized by the pulsing vein on the side of his neck. The longer he stared, the more he felt a strange appetite, a hunger.

He shook his head as if to get the thoughts out. What the hell was going on with him all of a sudden? It was not like he was a vampire anymore, so…

"Geez, Damon. Are you with me at all?"

"Huh?"

Matt glared at him, clearly annoyed. He couldn't blame him.

"Sorry, Donovan," he allowed, then pulled himself up by placing his hands on the table. "I'm… a little thirsty. I'm gonna get a water. Want anything?"

Matt shook his head. "I'm good. - Listen," he said, a sudden mild expression on his face, "if you can't concentrate on this right now, I get it. The wedding is in three days, right? You probably got your head full of other stuff. Maybe I can talk to these people, ask for a few days extra, so that I can look this over with Enzo when he's back." He paused. "He _will_ be back soon, right?"

Damon chuckled at seeing the slight desperation in Matt's face.

"I hope so," he allowed. "If Bon Bon lets him. - Come on. Let's give it one more try."

Matt agreed, even though Damon could tell he was not very happy about it.

The two of them had a strange relationship, he thought. They were respectful, rather than friendly, they - or at least Matt - had a certain wariness about him when they were actually doing something together, but mostly, Matt worked when Damon wasn't there, or he worked with Enzo.

Still, Damon trusted him with his bar in a way he hadn't trusted anyone else. He knew Matt was in it with his heart. And that's what he needed.

He grabbed himself a big glass of water and chugged half of it standing, seeing Matt frown at him. "You okay, man?" He asked, and Damon put on his best grin and said, "Why wouldn't I be. I'm getting married to the most beautiful perfect girl on Saturday! Come on, talk me through this again."

But when he sat back down, excited that he was finally able to concentrate on what Matt had to show him, his mind started playing tricks on him again. The water in his glass… had turned to blood. He quickly shot Matt a glance, but he didn't seem to notice anything.

"What?" He asked, and Damon picked up the glass to show him.

"Does this look… off to you?"

Matt's frown only deepened. "Looks like water to me. Why?"

Damon raised a finger and smirked at him, eyebrows raised up high. "Let me just… excuse me, I think I need to make a quick call."

He pulled out his phone, Matt's eyes on him, and dialed. He waited. Waited longer…

" _Geez, Damon, I'm in the middle of a diaper change. I told you, if I don't answer right away, it means I'm busy and will get back to you asap. - Don't let it ring for friggin' ever! This better be good…"_

"Good to hear you too, Bon Bon. Hey, can we talk about your magic blast again? Because I think my vampire side may be coming through again…"

* * *

...

 _Thanks for reading! And special thanks to shadowdancer and ironcrusher! You make this so much more enjoyable. :)_

 _ironcrusher: how could I not? I've always loved "fatherly Alaric" with Elena._

 _shadowdancer: thanks! I'm glad it's working then. You're right about Bonenzo: they're finally together and together they can conquer anything._

 _Also very true about Damon and Stefan. I loved Damon's development on the show, suddenly having people to care about deeply, but I always felt like they could have shown Stefan struggle with it more, especially since he doesn't really ever seem to have anyone other than his current love interest. Which is why I loved the brief scene with Lexi… He needed someone, too._

 _Anyways. None of this would have happened without some of these super thoughtful invested reviews. Thanks!_

...


	25. Schlaflied

...

 **Now**

...

Stefan hadn't allowed himself to mope for long, though he did have a few quite pathetic and booze filled nights. But he'd forgotten that he was now a human lightweight and he had regretted it when he had woken up with a horrible hangover that got worse daily.

After three of those hangovers, he therefore decided that enough was enough and he forced himself to start organizing his life without Katherine Pierce.

Since it had mostly been her that had made him leave his hometown to begin with, he packed his stuff, gave notice at the auto shop, didn't renew his lease for the apartment and headed off, back to Mystic Falls, back to his brother and his friends and life as he knew it.

It was hard to admit that he had failed. He wondered for a moment whether Damon would give him a hard time, or whether maybe any of the others would. He sighed. Even if they did, he kind of deserved it. And he knew that after any intial bickering and giving him the cold shoulder, they'd come around.

He'd been forgiven way worse. He was immensely grateful for that.

But when he stood waiting on the doorstep of his home, a duffel over his shoulder and just one extra bag in his car, he still almost teared up when Damon opened, and said his, "hello, brother" with a happy smile and no snark, as if there was nothing remotely strange about his brother being back so quickly.

"Mind if I stay for a bit?" Stefan asked just as casually. "I'll look for an actual place, but just for the first few days maybe?"

"Brother," Damon said, already walking back inside, "this is still your home, too. You can stay as long as you want. The longer, the better."

Stefan smiled. It felt good to be back. It really did. Katherine had torn his heart out yet again, but deep down, he had known the day would come. He had also known he could always go back to his safe haven. Still, he wasn't going to stay at the house indefinitely. It was Elena's and Damon's place now.

But he'd enjoy being a guest there for a little bit.

"So… " Damon eventually said, because he was Damon and he couldn't let it slide, "The cat scratch your heart out?"

Stefan grimaced and gave a half nod. "Go on, tell me that I was stupid to even leave with her in the first place."

But all Damon said was, "I'm sorry, Stef." He walked straight over to the bar and grabbed the bourbon, and Stefan's stomach revolted at the mere sight. "Let's drink to women, we can't live with or without them…"

"I'll pass," Stefan said and earned himself a curious stare, quickly followed by dawning understanding.

"I see. You've already done that. In that case," Damon walked over to the kitchen, "let's make some man food and turn on the TV like good humans. I think there's some sports game or other on today. I'll have to ask Ric. He's trying to get me into being his TV buddy."

And that was that. No more mention of Katherine for now, and Stefan was relieved. He wasn't ready yet to try and explain himself or relive the feelings he'd had when he'd found out that she had left him.

Instead, Ric came over later, too, and the three men sat down on the couch with some greasy chicken wings and chips, and watched basketball together, the most natural thing in the world.

And Stefan finally felt like this was all over.

* * *

.. _._

 _3 November, 1997_

 _Journal entry: Dr. Grayson Gilbert_

 _…_

 _I'm honored to continue this journal where others left off and report my findings. This Organisation and its studies have proven to be of immense importance to our cause and to save and protect humankind. I shall not tire to do my best to keep this enterprise going…_

 _…_

 _6 July, 1998_

 _Pain tolerance. Retesting._

 _Extraction of fingernails and toenails:_

 _Most subjects showed obvious signs of distress. Exception: subject A. He's undergone this treatment many times and his pain tolerance seems to have improved through the years._

 _Removal of skin and vivisection:_

 _Most subjects started screaming and writhing rather quickly. Many_ _passed out rather quickly and / or succumbed to death before we could finish properly._

 _Subject A barely showed any reaction until death, which seems to prove that pain tolerance has indeed improved exponentially within the last few decades. (Subject A had been with us the longest by far.)_

 _Personal note: while good for our studies, this was somewhat frustrating to witness._

 _…_

 _14 February, 2000_

 _Subject A is still in a catatonic state. According to our psychiatrist, Dr. Holloway, who diagnosed a 'depression' prior to this, the catatonia was caused by post traumatic stress disorder._

 _This diagnosis, however, would imply that vampires are indeed capable of rather strong emotions, which, in turn, could be evidence of the involvement of a 'soul'._

 _Therefore, I'm inclined to discourage such a diagnosis. Rather, the catatonia is likelier caused by the subject's body not being able to keep up with the frequent testing._

 _I shall allow for a slightly longer time period between experiments, to allow the body to heal completely before continuing studies. This will slightly inconvenience our schedule, but should still be manageable._

…

 _24 December, 2004_

 _Testing will be stopped during Christmas break. Enzo will remain tied down by vervained ropes. I gave him a last dose of blood. The next one will be administered upon my return in three weeks. I informed staff that no one but me is to interact with him. He is rather charismatic and I'm worried he could trick some of the easier to impress colleagues to help him escape..._

…

Jeremy closed his eyes, grimacing. He had told Caroline he wouldn't continue reading the Augustine Journal, but he found himself unable to stop. He felt like he had to at least read his dad's entries, or so it had started … He _had_ to know what his father's had done.

There had been a few rather excruciating chapters with way too descriptive writing, so that some of the entries his dad had made almost seemed harmless. Still, knowing who had written them turned Jeremy's stomach. It proved that it really was true. His father had conducted experiments on vampires. And not just any random ones…

The worst part was that Jeremy was starting to question what he was doing. He was starting to question his whole life! He was a vampire hunter, like Grayson had been. He was fighting the bad ones, because somebody had to, right? Like there were prisons for the bad humans, there had to be someone taking care of the bad vampires. Still…

He had decided to man up and tell Enzo and Damon about the journal and hand it over to them, although he wasn't sure how smart that was. Damon might understand. Enzo, on the other hand… There was no love lost between the vampire and him.

Jeremy was still shocked that Bonnie had started dating the guy that had at one time threatened to kill him.

Was Enzo a good guy, because he was now with Bonnie? Because Damon shared a history with him?

To Jeremy, he was still a bad guy. A murderer. A threat. Which didn't make sense. After all, he'd forgiven Damon way worse. And if he was being honest, Damon didn't exactly deserve his trust, or respect, or anything, either. Yet he had been there for Jeremy m. He had made up for his mistakes. And he was good for Elena. Good _to_ her.

Jeremy ruffled his hair, nervous, as he stood in front of the door, preparing himself to knock. Now was not the time for heavy thoughts.

He had told Damon to come over to Bonnie's place so that he wouldn't have to do it all twice… besides, there was only one copy of the book, and both his sister's fiancé and Enzo deserved to know about it.

When he knocked and Bonnie opened the door, a little baby wrapped around her in a sling, he stared at her open mouthed.

Up until that moment, he had managed to avoid seeing her. He had been in Mystic Falls for a few weeks - months - now, and he'd never crossed her path. He had pretended to himself that it was just naturally not happening because of their different schedules, but who was he kidding. He had avoided her. He had put actual work into it, too. If Damon had said Bonnie and Enzo would be coming over to hang out at the Salvatore house, Jeremy had found a reason to be out. And so on and so forth.

But now here she was, or rather, here he was, and he had to see it through. He still felt a pang when he saw her, a strange feeling enveloped him, strong, primal almost. She was so beautiful.

"Hey Jer." She smiled, a little awkwardly. "Come on in. Damon said you needed to talk with him and Enzo?"

"Uh huh. Right. It's…" He couldn't find any words to say. "Right."

Bonnie was still smiling, but there was a shadow of something on her face. Doubt? Concern?

"I was wondering when I'd finally see you. I… didn't want to push it. But, ya… it's good to see you."

"Ya, uh, sorry. I was… pretty busy and… with my dad and Enzo..." He trailed off, grateful when she nodded, understanding.

He was somehow even more grateful, and relieved, when he noticed that Damon was already there. He was sitting backwards on a chair, resting his chin on his arms, and watched Enzo… cook?

The vampire was indeed busy chopping an onion and tossing something into a pot on the stove, an unreal situation in Jeremy's eyes. But here he was, witnessing it.

"Jeremy!" Damon exclaimed and hopped off the chair. "Care to tell us what's going on?"

He looked quite happy and gave Jeremy a big slap on the shoulder, but Enzo stared at him darkly, and with a half-roll of his eyes. Or was he just imagining it?

"Can we…" He started, but the whole happy cooking atmosphere made him feel uncomfortable and out of place. "Can you guys sit down or something?"

Damon frowned.

"What's the matter?" he asked, just as Bonnie walked over to Enzo and whispered something in his ear.

"Alright. Living room," she announced and they all went over there. Jeremy sighed. He sat down and waited for the other three to do the same. Bonnie kept pacing, gesturing at the baby.

"Okay, I should get this over with quickly. I found a journal with the stuff my dad - my father kept at that... that place. I think you should have it."

Both men raised their eyebrows at him. But only Damon spoke. "A journal, huh? Dear diary, this is Grayson Gilbert. Today was beautiful. Had dinner with the family, then came over to do some torturing."

He was joking, of course, but Jeremy gravely muttered, "Kinda like that actually, yeah."

Damon's gaze darkened. He looked over to his vampire friend, who sat motionless, seemingly slouching on a sofa chair, though the tension in his body was obvious.

When Jeremy now offered the book up, Enzo bent forward abruptly and took it out of his grasp, opening it. Studying it.

Smirking.

"What's so funny, Mr. St. John?" Damon wanted to know, and Jeremy saw him exchange a worried glance with Bonnie.

How had these three gotten so close? Or rather: How had he managed to write himself out of their story so easily, but now he wished so badly he hadn't? He felt left out, and it was his own fault.

"Enzo?"

"Just a bunch of crap." He stared at Jeremy with his unreadable eyes, "Words don't mean anything…"

"They're about your experiences…"

"This got nothing to do with me. This is your father's and some other men's _experiences,_ " he spat the last word out with contempt, "their sick little fantasies." The vampire glared at him, then tossed the book back at Jeremy, nodding over to Damon. "Maybe he wants it. I just want it gone out of my house."

"It'll be good to keep the fireplace going," Damon said as he nonchalantly grabbed the book from a somewhat flustered and nervous Jeremy. He shot Elena's brother a sympathetic glance. Enzo could be intimidating and hostile - and he had a reason for both at the moment.

"Well, this was fun. I always love an excuse to see these adorable lovebirds over here, but there's work waiting for me - and a date with my fiancée." He rose slowly and gestured for Jeremy to follow him.

"Bon. Homeboy. I'll see you guys tomorrow. Let's get going, little Gilbert, your sister doesn't like to wait."

And with that they rushed out of the house, Damon casually holding the journal as if it hadn't been the reason they all met up in the first place. "We'll see ourselves out!" he chirped a little too happily, but neither Enzo nor Bonnie said anything.

…

Once outside, Damon slapped Jeremy over the head, making him scowl.

"What the hell-" he started, but Damon lifted a hand to silence him.

"Are you friggin' kidding me with this crap, Jer? What on earth made you think it was a good idea to bring this journal up to Enzo's attention. Scratch that, why the hell did you _bring_ the journal?!"

"I…," Jeremy frowned. "I just thought…"

"No, Jeremy Gilbert," Damon poked the other's chest, "you did _not_ think. Because if you had, you would not have reminded a tortured man of his past. - And I'm very much also speaking about myself here," he said, "whatever you thought you were doing, this was not the way to do it."

"I thought you should know-"

"Know what, exactly? That we were… 'treated bad' by some batshit crazy wannabe scientists? Don't you think we already knew that?" Damon lost his patience with Elena's brother. He had a soft spot for the kid, yes, but right now Jeremy really needed to learn when to shut up.

Thankfully, he finally did.

* * *

...

That night, Bonnie noticed that the bad dreams had come back.

While Enzo had continued to be reluctant to sleep and had gladly used James as an excuse to stay up and walk his rounds, his sleep - when he did sleep - had gotten quieter and better over the weeks that had passed since his return.

But Jeremy had to bring that stupid book over and shove it in their faces and now Enzo's handsome face looked troubled again while she watched him sleep beside her. He was grinding his teeth, and she gently placed a hand on his chest, which seemed to calm him somewhat. Beside her, in a small bassinet, James was for once laying down, if awake and cooing happily.

She took a few deep breaths. She knew Jeremy hadn't meant anything by showing them that journal. It was probably actually his kind of crooked way of atoning and returning what he felt he had no right to even see. But he should have just secretly gotten rid of it and left well enough alone.

Damon had just messaged her a picture of his fireplace with a nice fire burning inside and the remains of some paper visible in it.

 _Good day for a fire.._ He'd written. Then, in typical Damon fashion, _We should have a barbecue on the weekend._

They had chatted back and forth a bit after that, and Bonnie had known that she was not only helping Enzo deal with the horrors of the past, but also Damon. Elena was on a long night shift, and her fiancé was alone. He probably had his own demons to quiet down, and if Bonnie could help with a little phone banter, she was happy to do it.

Too many things were whirling around in her own head, Enzo prominent among them, and she was glad for the distraction.

After an hour long conversation, they finally messaged each other it was time to sleep. By then, they had come up with an elaborate meal plan for their barbecue, which apparently was really going to happen. She shook her head, a brief smile crossing her features.

With a sigh, she put the phone away, checked on her baby one more time and slid down under the covers next to Enzo.

She wasn't sure whether she should tell him the book was gone. But she decided it was best to give him some space. If he wanted to talk, she'd be there.

But first: sleep.

* * *

...

Caroline was ridiculously excited. She and Elena had met up for a coffee at the park. That way the twins could play and they got to talk a little during one of Elena's rare breaks.

She was so busy now that she had started interning at the hospital, it was a miracle she had even found the time to hang out with her friend.

"I want you to be my wedding planner, Care," Elena had said when they'd first sat down on the bench, watching the kids. Caroline had made a sound pretty close to an actual shriek.

And now she was already knee deep in ideas and music suggestions, and party favors.

"You'll definitely need a bouquet of white flowers. And an extra bouquet just for throwing. You know, those can get pretty shredded and you'll want yours to stay beautiful for a little while longer. We could even get one that will hold up nicely when dried! Oh, and what do you think about some of those cute Japanese rice paper lanterns? We could let them float out onto Mystic Lake once it's dark and-"

Elena was laughing. "Slow down, slow down," she told her friend and made a calming gesture. "I love your enthusiasm, Care! But we can't do all the things, okay? Let's meet up next week or so and go over all our options. And I'll have to talk to Damon about our budget…"

Caroline nodded, eager, but calmer. "I'm just so happy for you guys!" She blurted and couldn't stop the sudden tears welling in her eyes.

"Oh Caroline, no crying. What's… are you okay?"

Elena was concerned about her friend, but to her surprise, the blonde said, "Actually, I'm more than okay, Elena. Thank you for letting me do this. I won't let you down."

"I know you won't. You've always been the best event planner." Elena smiled, giving the other girl a hug. "And now you're also a great mom."

"Aw, thank you," Caroline whispered, visibly moved. She'd missed hanging out with Elena, hanging out with her girlfriends. It always lifted her spirits.

Without knowing it yet, Elena had just managed to help her with something else, too. Since Caroline had lost her job, she had applied for other, similar jobs with other programs, but the process was slow and tiring, and it never felt right.

Until Elena had mentioned the magical words: event planner.

That was totally something she was good at! And maybe it was time for her to do her own thing, to start her own event planning business.

There was hope for Caroline Forbes!

* * *

...

* * *

...

 **Six months from now**

...

It was dark outside, but the Armory was brightly lit and bustling with life.

Alaric had picked up the books again that he had last touched when Kai had helped them with the undoing of Katherine's spell. Stefan was there to help him, but looked a little lost because he didn't really know what to even look for.

Bonnie was trying out some magic by holding her hands over Damon's temples, trying to see what he was seeing, and maybe finding out what was going on.

"Hold still already!" She chided him and got a grumble in reply.

Caroline was busy doing last minute changes regarding seating at the wedding, while Elena was torn between worrying about Damon and concentrating on telling Caroline that Aunt Josephine could definitely not sit next to Uncle Morris.

"Uh, guys…" Alaric had found something.

Finally. Bonnie and Damon both looked to him.

"Is there hope for me, Professor?" Damon croaked, tired and ready to get some sleep. It was almost dawning outside.

"Well…" Alaric eyed his friend carefully, then looked over to Bonnie. "There's this theory - I think you said your grandma mentioned something along the same lines - that whatever magic is used, needs to be used in accordance with a... a cosmic balance."

Bonnie nodded and he went on.

"Now here's the thing. Bonnie, your psychic 'blast' upset the balance. Vampires turned human, a portal to let out the dead was formed. If I understand it correctly, the cosmic balance started to be restored when the dead returned to being dead. But that left the vampire-human problem." He stopped, shooting a glance at Damon. He could tell that his friend had put two and two together already, but he needed to spell it out for the others.

"Caroline and Enzo… are back to being vampires, but Damon here… he's the last one remaining human. And I think the cosmic powers - or whatever we want to call it - are trying to right a "wrong" there and return the order."

"What? No…" Elena gasped and hurried over to her fiancé. Damon's arm came up to hug her waist. "There's gotta be a way to… to stop it, right?"

Alaric grimaced. "Well. Yeah. Kinda. But… it needs to be as close as possible to the, uh, real deal. So… in other terms, someone as close to Damon as possible, a blood relative."

"A brother," Damon and Stefan both said at the same time.

* * *

...

 _Thanks, as always, for the feedback. Special shoutout again to shadowdancer and to ironcrusher._

 _And for reading. Thanks!_

 _We are nearing the end, I think. Next, we will completely catch up on those six months, and well, I g_ _uess that means a wedding. :)_


	26. The luckiest

...

"Alright," Stefan sighed, ruffling his hair. "How do we do this?"

But Damon just said, "No. I won't let you do this and give up your happiness for mine."

His brother looked at him mildly. "That's not what this is, Damon. Trust me. I had my shot at humanity. The _second_ one… and I guess it's just not for me anymore. If there's a way around the cure being inside of me, then I'll more than gladly do this. Not just for you, okay? For myself, too…"

They exchanged a glance. Damon suspected that the younger one was not quite telling the truth, that he mostly just said it for Damon's sake, but he was grateful nonetheless, and honestly, he was for once ready to accept it.

If there really _was_ a way...

"Are you sure?" He therefore asked as he got up off his chair and walked over to his brother, assessing him.

"I am, yeah."

There was a quietness in the Armory as everyone tried coming to terms with what that meant.

Bonnie was the first to start talking again. She had sat down on the chair Damon had vacated and was now looking over to Alaric.

"I don't know how to get around the cure. It's very strong magic and I'm not sure I can do it." She paused, looking to Stefan, then Damon. "If you are sure, I could try and see what I can do, but..."

"Do it," Stefan told her before she had even finished talking. Caroline shot him a glance. He could tell how anxious and tense she was.

She was battling with herself. She didn't want to interfere, but…

"Are you sure this is safe?" Caroline asked Bonnie, "I mean, what if you can't - I don't know - reverse the cure or deactivate it or whatever, could that hurt Stefan? We all know that simply extracting it would cause him to age super fast and die!"

"It's alright, Care," Stefan tried to appease her, "I'm willing to take the risk." He gave her a warm smile.

But she couldn't help but blurt, "Well, _I_ am _not_!" She felt herself flush as her face scrunched up. There. Now they had all heard it. Pathetic little Caroline Forbes was still pining after Stefan Salvatore, and she was panicking at the thought of losing him. She was embarrassed, and that only made her even angrier. "What if something happens and you die?" She added quietly, trying to rein in her emotions.

"Caroline."

"No!" She retorted, suddenly right in front of him, getting in his face. "When you ran away with Katherine, I didn't say anything." He flinched. "I let you do your thing. I even tried to understand. But I was not happy," she paused. She saw his stricken look, and she felt for him then, but she had to get it out anyways. "This time, I'm not just gonna sit here and be quiet and pretend that this is okay. Because it's not. - Yes, I still care about you, Stefan Salvatore, and I don't think I could…"

He grabbed her hands, smiling a warm if sad smile at her. She had to close her eyes briefly to finish her sentence. "I can't lose you again, Stefan."

She looked over to Elena; she felt so selfish, but her friend was only smiling understandingly.

"You won't," he whispered when she turned her gaze to him again and he placed a soft kiss on her lips. There were tears in her eyes now, but she quickly wiped them away when they separated and Stefan faced the others again.

"I'm ready," he announced. "Let's get it over with."

"Bon Bon," Damon started, shooting his brother a glance that Stefan answered with a nod. "I trust you not to kill my little brother, so… if hero hair boy really wants to play the hero, let's try it out."

Bonnie glared at him, but went over to Stefan anyway, ready to use her magic.

"Are you sure?" She asked him one more time and he nodded his agreement. Bonnie extended her arms and placed her hands, palms out, forward. She was just about to get started, when Elena called out to her.

"Wait!" She said. "Caroline just mentioned extracting the cure… we know Stefan can't be turned again as long as the cure is in him, right? But what if it isn't?"

"He'd die." Caroline almost shouted. Was this so hard to understand?

"Well yeah," Elena said, infuriatingly calm, "but that'd still take a few seconds or minutes or whatever, right? I mean, what if someone turned him as soon as the cure was out?"

They all stared at her. It seemed so simple. Too simple. Caroline didn't trust the idea.

"What if something goes wrong?" Her voice sounded small.

Stefan, however, had made peace with it. He had made peace with himself, with his brother, with everything. If this helped Damon, he would do it.

Almost two centuries ago, he had forced his brother to turn into a vampire. Now it was time to protect Damon's humanity with everything he got, by turning into a vampire. Even if that meant he died trying.

Was he scared? Maybe. Dying super quickly of old age didn't exactly sound like a lot of fun. He also didn't have a death wish. Rather the opposite: he had a hunger for life that being human, and being with Katherine, hadn't even begun to quench.

He needed this just as much as Damon.

…

And so they planned it meticulously. Elena would be the one to extract the cure, while Caroline was to wait right by Stefan's side, ready to feed him her blood and kill him as soon as the needle left his vein. She had volunteered - of course - once it had become clear that they were going to do it no matter what.

"Let it at least be me," she had muttered, and Stefan had nodded, looking grateful, maybe almost happy.

"There's no one I'd rather have do it," he said, and gave her a soft smile that she returned, though tears were welling in her eyes.

Then it was time.

Bonnie whispered a spell, enchanting a syringe to help them get the cure out. When she was done, Elena inserted the needle in Stefan's vein, asking him one last time whether he wanted to go through with it, Damon hovering over them both. Stefan nodded, his brother's hand firmly and reassuringly on his shoulder.

She proceeded. They all looked on as the vial quickly filled with Stefan's blood. It was strangely mesmerizing. Elena looked up, just as she was almost done, and Caroline opened a vein in her wrist with her teeth. Her blood started dripping, ready, and then Elena took the needle out of the vein, and Caroline shoved her wrist against Stefan's lips, his beautiful lips... She felt him drink, a strange, searing sensation.

She didn't even give him a chance to say anything, or herself time to think, but just snapped his neck with one swift move. It was over. She gasped.

"Please wake up, Stefan," she whispered, tears streaming down her face. What if she had killed him for real?

* * *

…

Damon was holding his hand when he came to. He was sleeping at an awkward angle, his head resting against the chair he sat in. Caroline was there, too. He smiled at them both.

"Hey…" Caroline quietly said, returning the smile. "You scared us there for a bit. It took you a while to come back." She caressed his cheek, ran a hand through his hair. "How are you feeling?"

Stefan frowned, assessing himself. He felt… good.

"Better than I've felt in a long time," he told her, and moved to sit up. Damon was stirring, but still asleep.

"He was crazy worried about you," Caroline explained, "I'm sure he won't admit to it later, but I thought you should know."

"Thank you, Caroline." He stared at her. "For everything."

The next thing she knew, she had leaned in to kiss him, kiss him fiercely, and he had returned that kiss. And more... She moved to straddle him, her hands starting to roam up his body, while his hands slid up hers. Their passion was getting the better of them and they almost forgot that they still had company until they both heard a chuckle.

"I guess this was a success, then. Could have waited with the smut till I was gone, but hey, I get it," Damon said, grinning. "I'll… uh, get you something to finish your transition, brother. Whenever you two are ready…"

He winked at the younger Salvatore and was gone, leaving Caroline and Stefan to giggle to themselves a bit before continuing where they had left off.

…

It had worked then, Damon thought. It had really worked. With a deep sigh, he rubbed his face before heading out.

He wasn't quite sure what to think, yet. On the one hand, he was relieved and grateful that it all had resolved itself so quickly. He got to stay human with Elena and live his life out with her by his side. That was the most important thing. On the other hand, he'd had a chance to also be human with his brother, experience it all together, with all the trials and tribulations that brought with it.

Stefan was the single one person that completely understood what it meant to have been a vampire for some 160 plus years and then be thrown back into human life. They had shared everything together. Now they wouldn't get to go through the same things anymore, and Damon knew he would miss that.

Their paths would lead them different ways.

He would also miss giving Stefan a hard time for having been selfish and having forced his brother into turning into a vampire. He couldn't exactly do that anymore after the recent events. He had to chuckle a bit at the thought.

But now it was time to help Stefan complete his transition, and then it was high time Damon got married.

Damon Salvatore: human. Married…

Who'd have ever thought that this was how his story ended…

No, he thought. This was how it _began_.

* * *

...

Elena had no idea what she was doing anymore. Why on earth had she picked out this dress?! She tugged and pulled and pulled and tugged, but she couldn't seem to get the tight corsage in place.

She was ready to start crying. But she knew she couldn't do that because the amazing make up artist Caroline had booked for her - as a gift - had already finished her work and Elena didn't want to ruin any of it.

The hair stylist had done wonders with her hair that she'd had cut into a practical bob for work reasons. But now it still looked like she had the old luscious locks and when she saw herself in the mirror she was ready to go back to that hairstyle.

There was hairbands after all!

"Get up already!" She half whined, half yelled at the dress, just when there was a knock on the door and Caroline and Bonnie poked their heads in.

They were already wearing their bridesmaid dresses, a light pastel yellow that made them both look beautiful. "Simple and timeless" had been Caroline's credo, no frilly details had been allowed.

"You girls look sooo pretty!" Elena said, feeling the tears come and fanning herself to stop the emotional outburst. "And I can't even get into this stupid dress!"

"Aw…" Caroline smiled knowingly. "Girlfriend, we'll make it work."

"It's my fault. I shouldn't have picked a dress with a stupid corsage!"

"It's not stupid!" Bonnie said and all three girls examined the piece of fabric and pearls before they all started pulling together, until it finally looked right.

Caroline and Bonnie were the ones to start crying now, and Elena half laughed and half cried with them, chiding them, "Now you made me ruin my make up after all! I had been so good at keeping those stupid tears at bay…"

"I'm so sorry, Elena. You're just… sooo beautiful! It's like, we've always talked about this when we were kids, do you guys remember? How we'd all be together for each of our weddings and…" Caroline choked up a bit. "Now you're the first of us and it's perfect!"

"It's perfect because of all the work you put into it, Caroline. Thank you so much! I saw the flowers at the church and… the horse carriage. I mean, a horse carriage!"

And they all smiled and giggled and tried to fix Elena's make up quickly, before it was time.

It _was_ time…

...

Later, when a solo violin was playing a beautiful song, Elena got ready to walk down the aisle. She had imagined this moment so many times, yet now that it was here, she felt completely unprepared. Her heart was beating so excitedly that she could feel it in her throat.

She saw her family - Jeremy - and her friends sit in the pews, and she smiled. She saw Caroline's little girls excitedly hop up and down in front of her, waiting for their mommy to give them the cue.

"When I tell you to, you'll start walking and throwing these beautiful rose petals, okay?" Caroline had instructed them for the umpteenth time, and Elena almost laughed. Her friend was more nervous than she.

And then she saw him, waiting up by the altar: Damon. In a tuxedo, all decked out. The most handsome man on the planet.

She threw a hand over her mouth, forcing herself to not start crying, when she noticed he had finally gotten a haircut. She grinned wide as he winked at her from afar. She had teased him about his choice of hairstyle for the last six months. And he had always just grinned at her and jokingly told her how superficial she was, making her feel slightly bad. But now here he stood, all groomed and just sooo very hot, that she felt her knees grow weak.

Which was the perfect moment for Alaric to appear by her side, softly whispering, "Shall we do this?" And she looked up at him and smiled and had to bite her cheek so as not to cry again.

...

She had been so worried about this part. The walk down the aisle. Alone. Without her dad. She had said she couldn't even really ask anyone else because she didn't want anyone to feel like a second choice, or like the stand in for a monster. It was the reason she hadn't asked Jeremy in particular. He was already struggling so badly with their father's legacy, with his own choices in life. Her poor brother had started questioning everything, yet felt unable to escape from his "duties" as a vampire hunter.

She felt so sad for him, so bad. But all she could do, all she could tell him was that she would be there for him when he needed her.

Deep down, tucked away inside of her mind, she had also been sad for herself. Because her father was going to ruin this special occasion for her. The man she had loved for most of her life, even after his death he still influenced her life, and not in a good way.

Then one day, Alaric had shown up at their house and Damon had been all ready to go watch some basketball game with him, talking about some random statistics and telling Ric to hurry and come inside and have a beer. But Alaric had grinned a little awkwardly and told his friend to slow down a bit.

"Can I have a minute with your fiancée first?" He had asked and Damon had given him a fake suspicious glare.

"I don't know. Can I trust you?" He had inquired before he had started grinning. Elena had rolled her eyes at him, and he had kissed her cheek briefly then left her and Ric alone, although not without saying, "Don't wait too long or the beer will get warm!"

Alaric had shaken his head and raised his eyebrows, all the while smiling at Elena.

"He's lovable, isn't he?" She had said, grinning, and he had nodded.

"Uh huh. Totally the word I had in mind."

They had both chuckled briefly, until he had looked at her, suddenly serious, and grabbed her hands. She had felt a sudden sense of worry.

"I know it's not my place, but… you're like a daughter to me, Elena, and I'm so glad you and Damon finally get to do this. Get married. And that you're happy. And I thought, maybe, if it's not too weird, that I could walk you down the aisle on your big day?" He looked at her sheepishly, awkwardly.

She had been so surprised and so unbelievably happy that she had been unable to say anything for a good long time, so she had given him a hug instead. She had started crying involuntarily, then said, "I'd love that very much. Thank you…"

...

Now here they were and he was really doing it, walking her down the aisle, smiling wide like a proud father, then handed her over to her husband-to-be, both men exchanging a meaningful glance before Alaric stepped aside.

"Hello gorgeous," Damon muttered as he took her in, the most beautiful girl in the world…

Caroline had tried to persuade them to say their own vows, but thankfully Damon had agreed with her when she'd said she'd rather do it the old fashioned way.

So, old fashioned it was, complete with a white haired pastor that forgot Damon's last name and even after a whispered reminder from Stefan, the best man, he managed to botch it.

"Will you, Damon Salvador…"

They couldn't stop giggling.

Somewhere, Caroline slumped down in her pew, trying to vanish. This pastor was so not a good choice...

It was funny, really; years later, Elena remembered this day so clearly. How they'd had such a hard time stifling their laughter, Damon, Stefan too. She'd remember every little detail, but the whole ceremony, the vows, would forever be a bit of a blur.

"You may now kiss your bride," the pastor said, a warm smile on his face, and Damon did. Her hand gently on his back, while he held her firmly, kissing her, bending her down as if dancing a tango.

The crowd was cheering...

Her smiling, crying bridesmaids, Bonnie exchanging a glance with Enzo and her baby.

But most of all, Damon. His warm touch against her, his very human warm touch. His breath in her hair, his "I love you, Elena Salvatore" in her ear, his hand clasping hers.

And the dance. Their dance. How they'd floated across the dance floor, the world around them a blur, the music playing just for them.

"I love you so much, Damon," she said as he whirled her around, before the music calmed to a slow rhythm and she could rest her head against him for a bit.

Then everyone danced along with them.

The flowers, the smell of jasmine in the air was heavy and intoxicanting. There was Laughter. Happy faces. The white doves that Caroline had organized flew up into the sky accompanied by another loud cheer. And yes, there were beautiful Japanese lanterns floating out onto the lake...

It was a mesmerizing day. And an amazing night.

...

They had decked out the house in just as many flowers. There were white balloons and garlands, there was a bottle of the best champagne and two glasses waiting in the bedroom.

And strawberries. Like a cliché - a perfect, most wonderful cliché.

Elena smiled as Damon danced her through the room, kissing her, licking her playfully, all the while guiding her over to the bed, half throwing her down onto the blankets, passion getting the better of them both.

Getting out of the dress was not very romantic and they giggled a little while wrestling her out of it, but then sobered quickly as Damon just stared at her for a bit, her lingerie accentuating her just right. He licked his lips, and then…

He trailed his way down from her mouth, down, down, stripping her as he went, until he buried his face in her hot core and as his tongue caressed her gently, there was only bliss...


	27. Okay I believe you but my tommy gun dont

...

There had been a certain moment in Enzo's life when he had realized that Bonnie Bennett was not simply an extraordinary person, a powerful if opinionated witch, but also someone truly special: caring, selfless, and _attentive_.

 _"_ Where have you been? You just fell off the face of the earth." She had asked the question with equal parts suspicion and interest, though it had been quite obvious that she had tried to hide the latter.

He had pretty much vanished from the earth for a while there and no one, literally no one but her had inquired as to what could have happened to him, or where he could have gone. No one had cared. Their lives had gone on as usual, and he had never really been a part of any of it, anyway. He had always remained on the sidelines of Mystic Falls. Involved, yes; a part of it? No.

But Bonnie Bennett had noticed his disappearance nonetheless.

It had been such a mundane moment, really, and she might not even remember it now or hadn't realized it back then, but when he had met her at that hospital, back when an aged Rayna the huntress had almost choked Bonnie, and he had come to her rescue (if, granted, for very selfish reasons) she had asked him where he had been.

When no one else had looked for him or asked about him or anything - not even when Lily Salvatore had died and they should have wondered why he hadn't shown up to honor her and give her his last respects, Bonnie Bennett had noticed and he had been able to tell from the way she had asked that she had actually cared.

Of course she had tried really hard to sound casual, and like she _didn't_ care much at all, but he had seen it in her eyes. Her beautiful expressive green eyes.

"I didn't miss you," she had continued, "I'm curious as to your recent whereabouts. There's a difference."

But he had seen through her; and he had smiled.

He had honestly been touched hearing that one person had cared. Just one person, it was all he ever wanted anyway. One person to care about him.

He hadn't even been upset about Damon seemingly not noticing he was gone. That was just typical Damon. He had done way worse to Enzo, and somehow Enzo still always ended up forgiving him. That bastard could charm his way out of anything, really.

A reaction from Bonnie Bennett, however, that had been like winning the lottery.

…

Maybe that was why, later, he decided to look out for her when his distant cousin Alexandria decided that the Armory needed a Bennett witch - that they needed Bonnie - for one of their rather suspicious interests and activities. He hadn't trusted the woman one bit, and she hadn't trusted him. She had left him in the dark about her plans (about everything, really) and he had decided to rather side with Bonnie than with her.

They had dangled a carrot in front of him for way too long by then, promising him information about his family, making him do their dirty work for them without ever really giving him anything in return. All he had wanted was to learn more about his parents, about his origins. But had these people given him anything? Did they even know much?

So when they told him they were setting out to capture Bonnie Bennett and make her do their bidding, at all costs, he made a decision. He was not going to help them. Instead, he was going to help _her_.

He wouldn't ever let anyone be locked away like he had been locked away - most certainly not someone like Bonnie Bennett with her kind heart.

 _She_ had saved _him_ once before, after all, when he had been on the Other Side. Surprisingly, strangely, she had cared about him back then, too, and she had held onto him and saved him from oblivion, given him another chance at life.

And he was going to honor that, to earn it...

* * *

...

* * *

...

She had been so so nervous about this, but in the end, it turned out great.

It had been Enzo's idea, of course. That man knew how to pick up clues and how to listen. All this time later, he had still remembered what Damon had told them once, about that dream he'd had when he had suffered the heart attack. The dream about the wedding.

Damon had later joked about it all, and had offhandedly mentioned how he should have known it was a dream because "Bon Bon sang a song with you, _mate,_ and it was actually really quite good," as he had recounted, addressing Enzo.

Enzo had only smirked back then, not shown more of a reaction and definitely not graced it with a comment. But later, Bonnie had learned that he must have secretly filed it away in that amazing brain of his, only to bring it up again when Bonnie was desperate and near tears because she - Elena's oldest friend! - could not come up with a worthy wedding gift, deserving of their special friendship.

"Let's write that song, love. Together," he had suggested, smiling at her as if it was the most obvious thing to do. And she could only wrap her arms around him and kiss him and tell him, "You're an amazing man, do you even know that, Lorenzo St. John?"

They had tirelessly worked on it, they had found the words together, while he had tried to match it with a melody. No, not tried. He had succeeded. It always seemed to come so naturally to him, music, and she was so awed to watch him, to witness how the music just poured out of him, translated onto the guitar.

It was always rather… arousing to watch him play. Especially when she could see the muscles work in his bare arms and watch his long fingers strum the instrument as if it was a caress.

Many a session back then had ended with the inevitable: them naked on the floor, or the couch, or once even splayed out rather awkwardly on the kitchen island just as James started crying in his crib.

His fingers had strummed her then, their bodies had made the music.

Then finally, and just in time, the song had been ready, or they had been ready to accept it as the final version, and now here they were, watching Elena and Damon dance while they performed their song.

Bonnie had been so ridiculously nervous. She had almost lost her voice because of it and she was only a little ashamed to admit that she had used a bit of magic to soothe her throat to be able to sing.

Ulterior motives, right? This was for her friends, her best friends.

Once they were done, Enzo as cool as always, but Bonnie flushed and exhilarated, everyone clapped and asked for an encore. She was feeling a bit shy, but Enzo simply nodded to her and asked in a whisper whether she knew the lyrics to a song called "The luckiest" at all. But she didn't.

So he smiled at her for a moment, then sang it by himself, his eyes on her most of the time, as if he was serenading her; and for a while she forgot completely where they even were. She had only eyes for him.

…

Later, when Elena threw her bouquet, Bonnie wasn't even in the crowd of unmarried women. She stood a little to the side, hugging Enzo close, and maybe also trying to hide a little in his embrace. She had never liked this part of a wedding. She had been single at a wedding too many times in the past and had always felt so awkward, so glaringly alone.

But suddenly she saw something from the corner of her eye, something flying straight at her, and thanks to her enhanced senses, she plucked it right out of the air only to realize it was the bundle of white flowers. She caught Elena's eyes, and saw her friend wink at her. Bonnie rolled her eyes but smiled. She wasn't actually annoyed. Enzo pulled her closer again, smiling, and kissed her. While she felt all eyes on them and felt heat creep into her face again, he was yet again unfazed and just so unnervingly calm and sure of himself. Sure of them.

* * *

…

It was so very late when they finally left. Damon and Elena had long vanished to do their thing and leave their guests to party on in their name.

Bonnie still saw Jeremy chat with Alaric, each one holding a sleeping little girl in their arms, while Caroline still danced a slow waltz with Stefan, drowning in his eyes.

Matt was still entangled with that Vampire Hunter girl that Bonnie couldn't stand (or trust), and a group of fellow medical students of Elena's was drunkenly chatting away at a table to the back.

"Shall we?" Enzo asked, giving her another kiss for good measure as he pulled her against his side, baby James already snapped into his car seat that was now dangling from his father's free arm.

"Yes," she muttered, and she took her shoes off before they went on their way, tip toeing alongside him until they reached the parking lot.

"I guess I'll have to do the gentlemanly thing and help you over the cold and hard asphalt," he smirked and before she knew it, he had hoisted her up, fireman style, and was carrying her - and their baby - over to their car.

She laughed. "Stop it, Enzo!" she begged, but he only let her back down once they had reached their destination. She looked up into his eyes, her smile making room for something else as she pulled herself up to kiss him.

"Such a gentleman," she whispered, and he smiled at her briefly, then they reluctantly disentangled again and worked together quickly to snap the car seat back in place before heading into the night.

…

The car ride was quiet, the night was brightly lit by a gorgeous full moon, and the street in front of them meandered along peacefully like a river of black. Bonnie felt herself almost doze off, listening to Enzo hum beside her, steering their car safely on its way, and it took her a while to notice that he wasn't headed home at all. Frowning, she called him out on it.

"Where are we going? This is not the way home."

"Do you trust me, love?" He briefly shot her a sideways glance, his expression unreadable.

Duh, she thought, but aloud she asked, "Should I?"

He smiled at her without saying anything, then redirected his gaze out the windshield once more. There was a light snow coming down, beautiful whisky flakes. It was getting cold.

They drove on for a while, her hand on his leg. She had so many questions, but he was quiet and wasn't going to answer any of them.

When they finally got to their destination, she couldn't help but smile. It was… beautiful. The clearing was covered in a light blanket of snow, bits of green and brown still poking through in places. And in the middle: the cabin. Their cabin.

"But it burnt to the ground," she breathed, deeply moved, already knowing what he would reply.

"I rebuilt it. For you. For us." He smiled at her, leaning his forehead against hers as he wiped away the tears she couldn't quite hold back.

She quickly put the Uggs on she had kept in the car for when it was time to get out again, then they stepped out onto the slight crunch of the ground and he came around the car to guide her over to the house.

He held a thankfully still sleeping James against his shoulder and chest, tucking him under his jacket, and together, their little family walked until they reached the door. Enzo looked at her, then procured a key from his pocket.

"After you, love," he rasped. "I would carry you over the threshold but..." He nodded to where James was resting against him, and she smiled at them both. With a sigh of anticipation, she unlocked the door and stepped inside.

It was all redone, but better somehow. Nicer. She couldn't see it all in the darkness, but it looked like home. She saw him extend an arm and turn the switch situated on the wall beside the door, and suddenly there were lights everywhere. So many string lights, just like on their very first date… Bonnie gasped.

"It's… beautiful, Enzo. When did you even manage to do all this?"

He had been with her for most of the time during the last months, ever since their baby was born… He couldn't have possibly done all this by himself, could he?

"I snuck away here and there," he explained, "when you and James were out together, or asleep… When I said I was helping Damon with accounting, I was actually here, too… But I'm not gonna lie, it came in rather useful that I have vampire strength." He grinned.

Bonnie was stunned. He had built her a house. A home.

"I hope you like it, love. Because I was hoping we could have our homebase here, a place to raise James. Where it all began…"

"Homebase?" She stumbled over the word, and he smiled at her. He gently put James down in the little crib that was standing by the couch, then walked back to her.

He looked at her for a long moment, not saying anything, tracing her lips with his finger. Then he slowly knelt down, and Bonnie forgot to breathe… He opened a small box, holding it out to her. There was a ring in it, simple, beautiful. A rose gold that would look beautiful with her skin tone.

"Bonnie Bennett," he began, looking up to her, so very earnestly, so handsome, and she could see the world behind his eyes, "will you-"

"Yes!" She blurted out, before he had even finished speaking and he started smirking.

"Will you at least let me finish? Or you'll never know what you just carelessly agreed to," he warned her playfully, and Bonnie had to laugh. She touched her ear in a sudden shy gesture, then did a little apologetic curtsy. Her emotions had gotten away with her, obviously. But she didn't care.

"Alright, dear Lorenzo St. John," she began, "What _did_ I just carelessly agree to then?"

She felt her cheeks flush again as she waited for his reply, but not with embarrassment so much as with arousal.

"To be my wife; that's what you agreed to. - So, love, just to make sure: will you marry me?"

She felt more tears come and tried to blink them away. "Always," she muttered, then, laughing, "Yes. Yes, I will!"

Enzo got up swiftly and stood right in front of her, putting the ring on her finger agonizingly slowly, and then he kissed her. She leaned into him, she let him lift her up, and together they made their way over to the couch, trying to be quiet so as not to wake their sleeping child.

She was going to marry him. Of course she was! Bonnie Bennett was going to marry Lorenzo St. John.

He finally had a family, a real family. The only family that mattered. And he was so very happy.

 _They_ were happy.


	28. Hidden track

...

There was going to be another wedding.

But before, there was travel. Enzo told her he wanted to see the world with her, and then always return to their homebase.

He wanted to visit the most beautiful places. Kenya, Iceland, Tasmania…

She chuckled and grinned at him. "Kenya, Iceland, Tasmania?!" She asked. "That's quite the random eclectic list."

He smirked and cocked his head, pushing a strand of her hair behind her ear.

"Well, love, it's merely a selection. I want to go on an excursion with you, map the world anew. Show James the beauty of this earth, that will be his to conquer."

She suddenly looked at him with concern, her hands fidgeting a bit as she played with their son's little feet.

"What is it, love?" He asked gently, but his face mirrored her expression.

"Do you think… with what we are, and what he is…" She paused, averting her gaze as if in shame, but he took her chin in his hand and made her look at him again. She continued, her voice just a whisper, "I'm just so worried that we will get him in danger. And that he'll hate us for who we are…"

She looked so sad, so upset that it broke his heart. He had done this to her. He had turned her into a vampire. Was it forever going to haunt them, to hover over their relationship?

"I'm so sorry, love," he apologized for the hundredth time, even though she always told him he didn't have to. "It's my fault that you even have to worry about that. I..."

"No!" She was quick to interrupt him, stop him from continuing on in that vein. "No, babe. It's not what I meant. I told you before and I won't tire to do so again until it'll finally sink into your stubborn beautiful head," he smirked at her then, awkwardly, while she continued, "I love you for what you did. And I've come to terms with being a vampire. In fact, I'm kinda excited to be living this life with you, not needing to worry what age will do to us. But…"

She leaned forward to cup his face, rest her forehead against his.

"Vampires and humans… they don't have a great history of getting along. You of all people know that... And our son is human. There's so much to worry about. We will have so many adversaries. - What if we die and he'll be left alone? What if he'll turn against us. Or what if he just simply ages and ages till he dies of old age, and I'll have to watch that? I'll have to go on without him?"

She'd started crying by then, she couldn't help it, and James' fingers came up to touch her face. His little face grew concerned, too, his momma crying was unsettling to his small world.

"Bonnie. All parents have those fears," Enzo whispered, " If we die - and we won't - Damon and Elena will take care of James for us. They're his godparents. - He'll be surrounded by people that have either experienced both, being human and a vampire, or people that know about the nuances of life. That there's more than good and bad, on either side. If you want, we can let him choose - later down the road - whether he wants to remain human or… become what we are. And if he dies, no matter when that may be, you'll survive that, too. It won't be easy. It will hurt, but he will always be in our hearts. He _is_ our heart."

And with that he pulled them both against his chest and held them there for a long time.

...

Until James grew too restless and poked them both in their nostrils.

* * *

...

It was a small affair. Just a handful of guests. And a priest.

A quaint little chapel by the Atlantic Ocean, somewhere in the French countryside.

A small bouquet of wildflowers they had picked themselves.

A gorgeous, if simple, white dress, accentuating every curve of her body.

A nice black suit, a bow tie.

And a few wide smiles.

It was the smallest little wedding, only witnessed by their son and their two best friends, Damon and Elena. It was all they needed. It was perfect.

Enzo smiled at Bonnie as he put the ring on her finger and kissed her before the priest had given the official permission. They all laughed when the man wagged a finger and scolded him, "Not just yet, young man."

"I love you, Bonnie Bennett," Enzo muttered, suddenly deeply moved, and his voice broke. Tears welled in his eyes. He couldn't believe this was really happening. That his pain was finally over. He wasn't so much _her_ guardian angel, she had always rather been _his._

"I love you, Lorenzo St. John." Bonnie was cry-laughing, acutely aware of her tears smudging her eye makeup. This was her moment. Theirs. For the first time, she was doing something completely selfish, just for herself. Getting married to the love of her life, far away from Mystic Falls, not caring who was or wasn't upset that they weren't invited. This was their day, and their day only.

And it was perfect.

"You may _now_ kiss the bride," the priest finally mildly said and gave a chuckle, and Enzo kissed his wife; a hand against the back of her neck, one resting on the side of her face, he kissed her, passionately, long.

Until they eventually heard Damon clear his throat.

"Let's get you two out of here now," he muttered under his breath, grinning wide.

And they did.

Elena placed James back in his mother's arm, and together they all strolled out of the chapel, the guys swaggering, cocky and so sure of themselves, the two women proud and erect, holding their husbands' hands.

...

 _The End._

* * *

 _..._

 _This story is dedicated to all those that love Bonenzo (I'm open for story recommendations btw...) and especially to all you guys that gave me some form of feedback at some point. I didn't get a single review for the first chapter. Just a first story follower. And it kept me going. So: even the smallest thing can help a writer find the courage to post more. :)_

 _Thank you for giving me courage, then. This is all for you. It's been a fun ride, and now it's over. I'm happy I got to finish this story._


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